Jan Palfijn (name sometimes spelled Jean Palfyn or Jan Palfyn) (28 November 1650 – 21 April 1730) was a Flemish

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

who was a native of

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

in the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Duchy of Brabant, Brabant and ...

. He practiced medicine in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and

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 ...

, and in 1697 moved to

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, where he remained for the rest of his career. Palfijn is remembered for introducing the

obstetrical forceps Obstetrical forceps are a medical instrument used in childbirth. Their use can serve as an alternative to the ventouse (vacuum extraction) method. Medical uses Forceps births, like all assisted births, should be undertaken only to help p ...

(''Main de Palfijn'') into medicine in the early 1720s. Palfijn's

forceps Forceps (: forceps or considered a plural noun without a singular, often a pair of forceps; the Latin plural ''forcipes'' is no longer recorded in most dictionaries) are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Forcep ...

initially had a problem because the two separate halves occasionally shifted during use. Later the two halves of the forceps were linked by a

hinge A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation, with all ...

to correct the problem. Jan Palfyn 1650-1730 Schouwburgplein Kortrijk

In 1718 Palfijn published an influential work for surgeons called ''l'Anatomie du corps humain'' (Anatomy of the human body). Reportedly, this book was still in use in Japan in the latter part of the 19th century. The Palfijn Medical Museum, the Jan Palfijn Hospital in Merksem and the Jan Palfijn Hospital in

are named after him.

References

Article on Palfijn's forceps
* ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the French Wikipedia.'' 1650 births 1730 deaths Physicians from the Spanish Netherlands Physicians from the Austrian Netherlands Surgeons from the Holy Roman Empire {{Belgium-med-bio-stub