Joseph Guichard Duverney or Joseph-Guichard Du Verney (; 5 August 1648 – 10 September 1730) was a French

anatomist 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 ...

known for his work in comparative anatomy and for his treatise on the ear. The fracture of the iliac wing of the pelvis is sometimes called the Duverney fracture.

Biography

Du Verney was a native of

Feurs Feurs (; ) is a commune in the department of Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. History Antiquity The city was founded by the Romans. The name ''Feurs'' is a contraction of ''Forum Segusiavorum'', in reference to the forum of the Gallo-Ro ...

in the province of

Forez Forez (; ) is a Provinces of France, former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire (department), Loire ''département in France, département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''dépa ...

. His father Jacques Duverny was a doctor in the small community Feurs. His mother was born Antoinette Pittre. His two other older brothers studied medicine and he too studied at the University of

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, where in

1667 Events January–March * January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...

he obtained his medical degree. Shortly afterwards, he relocated to

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 ...

where he was active in the circle of Abbé Pierre Michon Bourdelot where he came into contact with

Louis Gayant Louis Gayant (died 1673) was a French surgeon and anatomist. He was one of the founding members of the French Academy of Sciences. He was born at Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, and became a leading anatomist, but remained unpublished. He is given credit ...

(died 1673) and

Jean Pecquet Jean Pecquet (9 May 1622, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime – 26 February 1674) was a French scientist. He studied the expansion of air, wrote on psychology, and is also known for investigating the thoracic duct. Furthermore, he studied the nature of visi ...

(died 1674). He began to dissect and compare a wide range of animals including fish with

Philippe de La Hire Philippe de La Hire (or Lahire, La Hyre or Phillipe de La Hire) (18 March 1640 – 21 April 1718)

. He also received animals from the royal menagerie for dissections, and in 1681 he dissected an elephant from the court of

King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

. In 1682 he became a demonstrator of anatomy at the

Jardin du Roi The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

. In

1676 Events January–March * January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia. * January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...

he became a member of the ''

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

''. He is considered by many to be the founder of scientific

otology Otology is a branch of medicine which studies normal, pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear (hearing). Otology also studies vestibular sensory systems, related structures and functions, as well as their diseases, diagnosis and trea ...

. Alongside

Claude Perrault Claude Perrault (; 25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.Jean Pecquet Jean Pecquet (9 May 1622, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime – 26 February 1674) was a French scientist. He studied the expansion of air, wrote on psychology, and is also known for investigating the thoracic duct. Furthermore, he studied the nature of visi ...

(1622-1674), he was influential in the renewal of anatomical studies. Some of his students included

Pierre Dionis Pierre Dionis (1643 in Paris – 11 December 1718 in Paris) was a French surgeon and anatomist, First surgeon of the '' Enfants de France''. Biography Pierre Dionis was trained at the in Paris where he obtained the rank of master surgeon. He was ...

(1643-1718),

Jacques-Bénigne Winslow Jacob Benignus Winsløw, also known as Jacques-Bénigne Winslow (17 April 1669 – 3 April 1760), was a Danish-born French anatomist. Life Winsløw was born in Odense, Denmark. Later he became a pupil and successor of Guichard Joseph Duverney ...

(1669-1760), Jean-Baptiste Sénac (1693-1770) and

François-Joseph Hunauld François-Joseph Hunauld (24 February 1701 – 15 December 1742) was a French anatomist born in Châteaubriant. In 1722 he received his medical degree at Reims, then continued his studies in Paris under Jacques Bénigne Winslow (1669–1760) and ...

(1701-1742). Towards the end of his life he was working on hearing and the ear with Jacques Bénigne Winslow. He died from heart complications. Several works were published posthumously. He willed his anatomical specimens to the Royal Academy but this was challenged by Pierre Chirac (1648–1732), supervisor at the Jardin who said the specimens belonged to the King.

Contributions to science

Duverney published one of the earliest comprehensive works on

(Paris,

1683 Events January–March * January 5 – The Brandenburger-African Company, of the German state of Brandenburg, signs a treaty with representatives of the Ahanta tribe (in modern-day Ghana), to establish the fort and settlement ...

): ''Traité de l'organe de l'ouie, contenant la structure, les usages et les maladies de toutes les parties de l'oreille'' (Treatise on the organ of hearing, containing the structure, function, and diseases of all parts of the ear). In the book he discusses the

anatomy 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 ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

and

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s associated with the

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

. Duverney's theory of hearing (which he conceived with the help of

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Edme Mariotte Edme Mariotte (; ; c. 162012 May 1684) was a French physicist and priest (abbé). He is particularly well known for formulating Boyle's law independently of Robert Boyle. Mariotte is also credited with designing the first Newton's cradle. Biog ...

) was fundamentally similar to what

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...

(1821–1894) later proposed in the mid-19th century, except that he thought that high

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

would resonate near the apex of the

cochlea The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus (cochlea), modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the organ of Cort ...

, and low frequencies near the base (

Domenico Cotugno Domenico Felice Antonio Cotugno (January 29, 1736 – October 6, 1822) was an Italian people, Italian physician. Biography Born at Ruvo di Puglia (Province of Bari, Apulia) into a family of humble means, Cotugno underwent physical and economic ...

had to turn this around in

1760 Events January–March * January 9 – Battle of Barari Ghat: Afghan forces defeat the Marathas. * January 22 – Seven Years' War – Battle of Wandiwash, India: British general Sir Eyre Coote is victorious over th ...

). In

, Duverney identified a

temporal bone The temporal bone is a paired bone situated at the sides and base of the skull, lateral to the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples where four of the cranial bone ...

tumor, which is believed to be the earliest description of

cholesteatoma Cholesteatoma is a destructive and expanding growth consisting of keratinizing squamous epithelium in the middle ear and/or mastoid process. Cholesteatomas are not cancerous as the name may suggest, but can cause significant problems because of the ...

. He realized the importance of the

Eustachian tube The Eustachian tube (), also called the auditory tube or pharyngotympanic tube, is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear, of which it is also a part. In adult humans, the Eustachian tube is approximately long and in diameter. It ...

and its role in adjusting air pressure in the

tympanic cavity The tympanic cavity is a small cavity surrounding the bones of the middle ear. Within it sit the ossicles, three small bones that transmit vibrations used in the detection of sound. Structure On its lateral surface, it abuts the external audit ...

. However, he believed that the Eustachian tube was always open, acting as a vent to the air, when the

eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit changes in pres ...

moves in and out. Duverney's clinical work led to the posthumous publication of: ''Maladies des os'' ("Diseases of the bones"), a book containing a description of the eponymous " Duverney fracture" and the first full description of

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in Bone fracture, fracture risk. It is the most common reason f ...

Selection of works

*
Myologie complete en couleur et grandeur naturelle, composée de l'Essai et de la Suite de l'Essai d'anatomie en tableaux imprimés
' (1746) *
Anatomie de la tête, en tableaux imprimés qui représentent au naturel le cerveau sous différentes coupes, la distribution des vaisseaux dans toutes les parties de la tête, les organes des sens et une partie de la névrologie, d'après les pièces disséquées et préparées par M. Duverney, en 8 grandes planches dessinées, peintes, gravées et imprimées en couleur et grandeur naturelle, par le sieur Gautier
' (1748) (''Anatomy of the head'') *
Abrégé d'anatomie, accommodé aux arts de peinture et de sculpture et mis dans un ordre nouveau dont la méthode est très facile et débarrassée de toutes les difficultés et les choses inutiles, qui ont toujours été un grand obstacle aux peintres […]
' (1765) (Short treatise of anatomy for painters and sculptors. With

Roger de Piles Roger de Piles (7 October 1635 – 5 April 1709) was a French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat. Life Born in Clamecy, Nievre, Clamecy, Roger de Piles studied philosophy and theology, and devoted himself to painting. In 1662 he became ...

and François Tortebat)

Biography

Contributions to science

Selection of works

Notes

Further reading