Henri Parinaud (1May 184423March 1905
at Who Named It) was a French

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and

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 ...

, most noted for his work in the field of

neuro-ophthalmology Neuro-ophthalmology is an academically-oriented subspecialty that merges the fields of neurology and ophthalmology, often dealing with complex systemic diseases that have manifestations in the visual system. Neuro-ophthalmologists initially comple ...

Early life

Henri Parinaud was born in

Bellac Bellac (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of '' L'Apollon de Bellac'', was born in 1882. His house has been turned into ...

into a lower-class family in 1844, and his father died when Henri was 19. He went on to study medicine at

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, and then in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1869. When the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

broke out in 1870, he went to serve as a doctor with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, where he earned a medal for Unusual Bravery.Ophthalmologist and eponyms – Parinaud
/ref>

Medical career

After the war, Parinaud returned to Paris to continue his studies. His thesis for medical school was on

optic neuritis Optic neuritis (ON) is a debilitating condition that is defined as inflammation of cranial nerve II which results in disruption of the neurologic pathways that allow visual sensory information received by the retina to be able to be transmitted to ...

in acute

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 occasion ...

in children, which earned him respect and recognition in the field. His other fields of work included

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

, ophthalmoplegic migraine,

hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

, supranuclear lesions, and concomitant squint; all in the realm of

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

. Parinaud also worked in the physiology of vision, where he worked on role of the visual receptors, the light sense, night-blindness, and

color vision Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different frequencies independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of the larger visual system and is mediated by a co ...

. Parinaud died in

Associated terms

He is well known for the medical term

Parinaud's syndrome Parinaud's syndrome is a constellation of neurological signs indicating injury to the dorsal midbrain. More specifically, compression of the vertical gaze center at the rostral interstitial nucleus of medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF). It ...

, which is, "a dorsal midbrain lesion such as

pinealoma A pinealoma is a tumor of the pineal gland, a part of the brain that produces melatonin. If a pinealoma destroys the cells of the pineal gland in a child, it can cause precocious puberty. Signs and symptoms The pineal gland produces the hormone m ...

which results in vertical gaze palsy, convergence-retraction

nystagmus Nystagmus is a condition of involuntary (or voluntary, in some cases) Eye movement (sensory), eye movement. People can be born with it but more commonly acquire it in infancy or later in life. In many cases it may result in visual impairment, re ...

and light-near dissociation". Another medical condition named after him is Parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome (fever, papillar

conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye or Madras eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin, clear layer that covers the white surface of the eye and the inner eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness ...

and

lymphadenopathy Lymphadenopathy or adenopathy is a disease of the lymph nodes, in which they are abnormal in size or consistency. Lymphadenopathy of an inflammatory type (the most common type) is lymphadenitis, producing swollen or enlarged lymph nodes. In c ...

), a rare manifestation of

cat scratch disease Cat-scratch disease (CSD) is an infectious disease that most often results from a scratch or bite of a cat. Symptoms typically include a non-painful bump or blister at the site of injury and painful and swollen lymph nodes. People may feel tired ...

(caused by the bacteria ''

Bartonella ''Bartonella'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. It is the only genus in the family Bartonellaceae. Facultative intracellular parasites, ''Bartonella'' species can infect healthy people, but are considered especially important as opportuni ...

''), which he was first to describe.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parinaud, Henri 1844 births 1905 deaths People from Haute-Vienne French neurologists French ophthalmologists

Early life

Medical career

Associated terms

See also

Notes