Sigismond Jaccoud (20 November 1830 – 26 April 1913) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. Sigismond Jaccoud was born in 1830 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where he went to school and was educated in music and the science of literature. In 1849 he went 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 ...

to study medicine – and supported himself in that city teaching music and literature. He became ''interne des hפpitaux'' in 1855. After graduation in 1859 he specialised in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and in 1860 defended his

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

, on the

pathogenesis In pathology, pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes . Descript ...

albuminuria Albuminuria is a pathological condition of elevated albumin protein in the urine (often measured as urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio of >30 milligrams of albumin per 1 gram of creatinine per day). It is a type of proteinuria, and is the most com ...

. In 1862 he became ''medecin des hopitaux'', in 1863 ''professeur''. In 1877 he was appointed professor of internal

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

at the

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

faculty and member of the

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal. At its inception, the institu ...

. In 1898 he became president of the Academy. Jaccoud was a very famous and highly estimated lecturer at several of Paris' hospitals – L'Hôpital Saint-Antoine, l'Hôpital de la Charité, l'Hôpital Lariboisière and l'Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpétrière. Following the death of Ernest-Charles Lasègue (1816–1883) in 1883, he was also made professor of internal medicine at the Pitié hospital in Paris. In 1883 he published a three-volume work on

, comprising almost 3.000 pages. In

rheumatology Rheumatology () is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases, c ...

, and partly in

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 ...

, Jaccoud was probably best known for his 23. Lecture, which has been perpetuated in medical history because of its description of Jaccoud's syndrome. At the turn of the 20th century

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

ravaged among children and youth, and the fact that there was, unlike today, no rational

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...

available, interest concentrated on the natural course of the disease. As he published his lectures in book form, they are still available for study – covering an impressive variety of medical questions. On

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, the greatest medical problem of the time, with its numerous complications, no less than ten lectures were needed. In his books he emphasised how he enjoyed thorough clinical examinations,

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

, research and teaching. Jaccoud died in 1913, at the age of 83 years. Jaccoud published numerous articles in ''Dictionnaire de Médecine et de Chirurgie pratiques'' of which he was co-publisher.

Terms

* Jaccoud's arthropathy — a deformity of the fingers, causing them to deviate away from the thumb. * Jaccoud's dissociated fever — fever with slow and irregular pulse in tuberculous meningitis of adults. * Jaccoud's sign — prominence of the

aorta The aorta ( ; : aortas or aortae) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the Ventricle (heart), left ventricle of the heart, branching upwards immediately after, and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits at ...

in the suprasternal notch: an indication of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

References

* Dorland's Medical Dictionary (1938)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaccoud, Sigismond Swiss pathologists 1830 births 1913 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery