Gabriel Andral (6 November 1797 – 13 February 1876) was a French

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Early life

Born in Paris in 1797 to a family, originally from Espédaillac, deeply rooted in the medical profession. His grandfather, father, and uncle were all physicians. His father, Guillaume Andral (1769–1853), held an honorary membership in the Academy of Medicine and had a career as a surgeon in the French Revolutionary Armies. Gabriel Andral completed his secondary education at the prestigious

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

in Paris in 1813. Gabriel embarked on his medical studies in 1815, marking the beginning of his journey in the field of medicine.

Career

In 1828 Andral was appointed professor of

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

, and in 1839 succeeded

François-Joseph-Victor Broussais François-Joseph-Victor Broussais (17 December 1772 – 17 November 1838) was a French physician. Life François-Joseph-Victor Broussais was born in Saint-Malo. From his father, who was also a physician, he received his first instructions in medi ...

(1772–1838) as chair of general pathology and therapy, a position he held for 27 years. In 1823 he became a member of the Académie Nationale de Médecine. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1849. Andral is remembered for his pioneer investigations of blood

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. He is considered to be the founder of scientific

hematology Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to bloo ...

, and is credited with its integration into clinical and analytical medicine. With his colleague, Louis Denis Jules Gavarret (1809–1890), he performed extensive studies of blood composition. They demonstrated that blood composition varies in different pathological conditions, and their findings showed the importance of blood chemistry as a means of confirming diagnoses. Andral's crowning written achievement was ''Clinique médicale'', a five-volume work that discussed almost every facet of medicine known at the time. It was an exhaustive summary of French medicine and its development in the early part of the 19th century. Andral is credited as the first physician to describe lymphangitis carcinomatosa, a disease that is usually associated with cancers of the lung, breast,

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

, and cervix. His father, Guillaume Andral, was also a physician of note.

New International Encyclopedia ''The New International Encyclopedia'' was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead & Co. It descended from the ''International Cyclopaedia'' (1884) and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926. History ''The New Internatio ...

Selected works

* ''Précis d'anatomie pathologique'', (1829) * ''Projet d'un essai sur la vitalité'', (1835) * An edition of Lænnec's ''Traité de l'auscultation médiate ou traité du diagnostic des poumons et du cœur'' (1836) * ''Cours de pathologie interne'' (1836–1837) * ''Sur le traitement de la fièvre typhoïde par les purgatifs'' (1837) * ''Sur les modifications de properties de quelques principes du sang (fibrine, globules, materiaux solides du sérum, et eau) dans les maladies'', (with Jules Gavarret); (1840) * ''Recherches sur la composition du sang de quelques animaux domestiques, dans l’état de santé et de maladie'', (with Jules Gavarret and Onésime Delafond 1805–1861); (1842) * ''Traité élémentaire de pathologie et de thérapeutique générale'' (1843) * ''Essai d'hématologie pathologique'', (1843) See also
more comprehensive list here

Terms

* Andral's decubitus—decubitus on the sound side; a position assumed in the early stages of

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

. ::( Dorland's Medical Dictionary—1938)

References

*
''Gabriel An''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andral, Gabriel French pathologists 1797 births 1876 deaths Academic staff of the University of Paris Scientists from Paris Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences