Gaspard Vieusseux (February 18, 1746 – October 21, 1814) was a

Genevan Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

physician born in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. In 1766 he obtained his doctorate from the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

, and subsequently returned to Geneva in order to practice medicine. Vieusseux is remembered for his pioneer work with

neurological Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...

disorders. In 1806 he provided an early clinical description of

bacterial meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionall ...

— this being in regards to an 1805 epidemic of the disease in the vicinity of Geneva. In 1887 Anton Weichselbaum (1845–1920) of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

isolated the agent of meningitis, now known as ''

meningococcus ''Neisseria meningitidis'', often referred to as the meningococcus, is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life-threatening sepsis. The bacterium is referred to a ...

''. In 1808 he provided the first clinical description of lateral medullary infarction to the ''Société médicochirugicale de Genève'', and in 1810 described this condition to the Medical and Chirurgical Society of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. However, this disease was later to become known as "

Wallenberg's syndrome Lateral medullary syndrome is a neurological disorder causing a range of symptoms due to ischemia in the lateral part of the medulla oblongata in the brainstem. The ischemia is a result of a blockage most commonly in the vertebral artery or the po ...

", named after

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

Adolf Wallenberg Adolf Wallenberg (10 November 1862 – 10 April 1949) was a German internist and neurologist. Wallenberg was born in Preussisch Stargard into a Jewish family. He studied at the universities of Heidelberg and Leipzig, receiving his doctorate ...

(1862–1949), who in 1901 provided a precise

anatomical Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

description of the disorder from an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

. Vieusseux also distinguished himself as an early advocate of vaccinations for treatment against

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

References

The Founders of Child Neurology
by Stephen Ashwal

@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

18th-century physicians from the Republic of Geneva 19th-century physicians from the Republic of Geneva neurologists 1746 births 1814 deaths {{med-bio-stub