Raymond Vieussens (ca. 1635 – 16 August 1715) 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 ...

from

Le Vigan Le Vigan or Vigan may refer to: Places in France * Le Vigan, Gard, in the Gard department * Le Vigan, Lot, in the Lot department * Saint-Étienne-du-Vigan, previously called Vigan-d'Allier, in the Haute-Loire department People * Robert Le Vigan ...

. There is uncertainty regarding the exact year of Vieussens birth, with some sources placing it as late as 1641. He studied medicine at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

where he earned his degree in 1670. He later became head physician at Hôtel Dieu Saint-Eloi in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. Vieussens is remembered for his pioneer work in the field of

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

, and his anatomical studies of the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

and

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...

. He regarded English anatomist

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English physician who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology, and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. L ...

(1621–1675) as a major influence towards his career. Vieussens is credited as being the first physician to give accurate descriptions of the

left ventricle A ventricle is one of two large chambers located toward the bottom of the heart that collect and expel blood towards the peripheral beds within the body and lungs. The blood pumped by a ventricle is supplied by an atrium, an adjacent chamber in t ...

and several blood vessels of the heart. He was also the first to give a comprehensive description of

mitral stenosis Mitral stenosis is a valvular heart disease characterized by the Stenosis, narrowing of the opening of the mitral valve of the heart. It is almost always caused by Rheumatic Heart Disease, rheumatic valvular heart disease. Normally, the mitral va ...

, as well as other types of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

and

circulatory In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart an ...

disorders. He also provided an early description of the brain's

centrum semiovale In neuroanatomy, the centrum semiovale, semioval center or centrum ovale is the central area of white matter found underneath the cerebral cortex. The white matter, located in each hemisphere between the cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, ...

, which is sometimes referred to as "Vieussens' centrum". This structure is also known as "Vicq d'Azyr's centrum", named after

Félix Vicq-d'Azyr Félix Vicq d'Azyr (; 23 April 1748 – 20 June 1794) was a French physician and anatomist, the originator of comparative anatomy and discoverer of the theory of homology in biology. Biography Vicq d'Azyr was born in Valognes, Normandy, the son ...

(1746–1794), who provided a later, more detailed description. Several other anatomical structures are named after Vieussens; however, they have largely been replaced by clinical nomenclature. These include: *"Vieussens' valve" (

superior medullary velum The superior medullary velum (anterior medullary velum) is a thin, transparent lamina of white matter which - together with the inferior medullary velum - forms the roof of the fourth ventricle. It extends between the two superior cerebellar ped ...

) *"Vieussens' ventricle" (cavity of

septum pellucidum The septum pellucidum (Latin for "translucent wall") is a thin, triangular, vertical double membrane separating the anterior horns of the left and right lateral ventricles of the brain. It runs as a sheet from the corpus callosum down to the f ...

) *"Vieussens' ansa" ( subclavian loop) *"Vieussens' ganglia" (

celiac ganglia The celiac ganglia or coeliac ganglia are two large irregularly shaped masses of nerve tissue in the upper abdomen. Part of the sympathetic subdivision of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the two celiac ganglia are the largest ganglia in th ...

) *"Vieussens' isthmus" (

limbus of fossa ovalis The ''fossa ovalis'' is a depression in the right atrium of the heart, at the level of the interatrial septum, the wall between right and left atrium. The ''fossa ovalis'' is the remnant of a thin fibrous sheet that covered the '' foramen ovale'' ...

) and *"Vieussens' veins" ( innominate cardiac veins). He also provided an early description of the tiny openings in the veins of the

right atrium The atrium (; : atria) is one of the two upper chambers in the heart that receives blood from the circulatory system. The blood in the atria is pumped into the heart ventricles through the atrioventricular mitral and tricuspid heart valves. ...

of the heart that are known as "Vieussens' foramina", or foramina venarum minimarum, and sometimes "Thebesian foramina" after

Adam Christian Thebesius Adam Christian Thebesius (January 12, 1686 – November 10, 1732) was a German anatomist who was a native of Sandenwalde, Silesia. He studied medicine in Jena, Leipzig and Leiden, receiving his doctorate from the University of Leiden in 170 ...

(1686–1732). Another important finding named after him in the field of cardiology is the vieussens collateral, that is an arterial relation between the proximal part of the right coronary artery (RCA) to the left anterior descending artery (LAD), providing some blood flow for the myocardium distal to the coronary lesion in the LAD. This collateral blood supply reduces ischemia and protects that part of myocardium from complete necrosis. Among his written works are ''Neurographia universalis'', an early work on

neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...

that is known for its excellent copperplate illustrations, and ''Novum vasorum corporis humani systema'', an important treatise on the anatomy and diseases of the heart. During his lifetime, Vieussens was known for his controversial views on human physiology, which speculatively went beyond what the scientific evidence would have sanctioned at that time.

Selected works

* ''Neurographia universalis'', (General neurography) (1684) * ''Vieussens's Tractatus duo'', (treatise on two subjects) (1688) * ''Epistola de sanguinis humani'', (an article on human blood) (1698) * ''Deux dissertations'', (two dissertations) (1698) * ''Novum vasorum corporis humani systema'', (Vessels of the human body; considered an early classic work of

) (1705) * 1706- the Structure of human heart. * ''Dissertatio anatomica de structura et usu uteri ac placentae muliebris'', (Anatomical study on the structure of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

and

placenta The placenta (: placentas or placentae) is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between ...

) (1712) * ''Traité nouveau de la structure de l'oreille'', (Treatise on the structure of the ear) (1714) * ''Traité nouveau des liqueurs du corps humain'' (1715) * ''Traité nouveau de la structure et des causes du mouvement naturel du coeur'', (Treatise on the structure of the heart and the causes of its natural motion) (1715)

References

Bookrags
(biography of Raymond Vieussens) * visit the educational website www.themitralvalve.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieussens, Raymond French anatomists French cardiologists 1715 deaths University of Montpellier alumni Year of birth uncertain Fellows of the Royal Society 17th-century French physicians 18th-century French physicians