Marcel Lermoyez (24 July 1858 – 1 February 1929) was a French otolaryngologist and

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

who was a native of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

Background

In 1886, he received his doctorate in Paris, and from 1891 served as ''médecin des hôpitaux''. The following year, he traveled to Vienna in order to study with famed

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

Adam Politzer Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Book of Genesis, Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a coll ...

(1835-1920). It was during this period of time that Lermoyez decided to specialize in the field of

otorhinolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

. In 1896 he opened a private clinic in Paris, and two years later was appointed to the Hôpital Saint-Antoine, where he established an otolaryngology service. In 1910 he became only the second otologist to be elected to the

Académie de Médecine An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, the first being Prosper Ménière (1799-1862). After the death of his son in 1923, Lermoyez became completely withdrawn, remaining depressed until his death in 1929. Marcel Lermoyez is credited for establishing otolaryngology as a specialized medical field in France. He made contributions in the research of diseases such as tuberculosis of the ear, otosclerosis, and otogenous

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, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

Written works

In 1894 he published ''Rhinologie, otologie, laryngologie: Enseignement et pratique de la Faculté de Médecine de Vienne'', a book that was a catalyst towards the founding of the so-called "French School of Otolaryngology", and considered to be an important work in regards to the history of Viennese medicine. Other noteworthy publications by Lermoyez include: * ''Étude expérimentale sur la phonation'', 1886 - Experimental study of

phonation The term phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, ''phonation'' is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the defini ...

. * ''Le diagnostic de la méningite aiguë otogène'', 1909 - The diagnosis of acute otogenic

. * ''Traité des affections de l'oreille'', 1921 - Treatise on diseases of the ear.Google Search
(publications) In addition to his own writings, he made contributions to

Charles-Joseph Bouchard Charles Jacques Bouchard (6 September 1837 – 28 October 1915) was a French pathologist and an esperantist born in Montier-en-Der, a commune the department of Haute-Marne. Biography He studied medicine in Lyon and Paris, where he obtained his ...

's ''Traité de pathologie générale'', Pierre Robin's ''Traité de thérapeutique appliquée'' and to

Jacques-Joseph Grancher Jacques-Joseph Grancher (; 29 September 1843 in Felletin, Creuse – 13 July 1907) was a French pediatrician born in Felletin. In 1862 he began his medical studies in Paris, where he worked as an assistant at the Hôpital des Enfants Malade ...

and

Jules Comby Jules Comby (; 28 April 1853, in Arnac-Pompadour – 18 March 1947) was a French pediatrician. The eponymous "Comby's sign" is named after him, which is an early indication of measles characterized by thin whitish patches on the gums and buccal ...

's ''Traité des maladies de l'enfance''. In 1892 he founded the journal ''Annales des Maladies des Oreilles et du Larynx''.

Associated eponym

* Lermoyez's syndrome: Tinnitus and loss of hearing prior to an attack of vertigo, after which hearing improves. It is considered a variant of labyrinth idropsy, similar to Ménière’s disease. While Ménière's disease is chronic and progressive, Lermoyez's syndrome is an acute phenomenon which results in no damage for the ciliated cells of cochlea. This is possible because the excess of pressure inside the

inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...

is reduced by a break of the sacculum, in the vestibular labyrinth, with no long term consequence for the cochlea.

References

''Marcel Lermoyez''
@ Who Named It 1858 births 1929 deaths People from Cambrai French otolaryngologists {{France-med-bio-stub