Jean Pierre Flourens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean Pierre Flourens
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Jean Pierre Flourens
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| Born | 13 April 1794 Maureilhan, France
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| Died | 6 December 1867 (aged 73) Montgeron, France
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| Nationality | French |
| Known for | anesthesia |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | physiologist |
Marie Jean Pierre Flourens (born April 13, 1794 – died December 6, 1867) was a famous French physiologist. He is known as the person who started the scientific study of the brain through experiments. He also helped discover anesthesia, which is used to make people feel no pain during operations. His son was Gustave Flourens.
Contents
Early Life and Studies
Jean Pierre Flourens was born in Maureilhan, a town near Béziers in France. When he was just 15 years old, he started studying medicine at Montpellier University. He earned his doctor's degree in 1813.
The next year, he moved to Paris. There, he met Georges Cuvier, a very important scientist who studied animals. Cuvier liked Flourens and helped him. In Paris, Flourens began doing his own research on how the body works, which is called physiology. In 1821, he gave talks about how our senses work, and many scientists were very interested.
Pioneering Brain Research
In 1815, Flourens started using a new way to study the brain. He would carefully remove small parts of the brain from living rabbits and pigeons. Then, he would watch how their movements, senses, and overall behavior changed.
His goal was to find out if different parts of the brain had different jobs. At the time, a doctor named Franz Joseph Gall believed this idea. However, Gall didn't use scientific experiments to prove his points. Flourens wanted to use a proper scientific method. In 1825, Flourens became a member of the American Philosophical Society.
How Brain Parts Work
Flourens was the first to clearly show that the main parts of the brain do indeed have different functions.
- When he removed the cerebral hemispheres (the large, outer parts of the brain), the animals lost all their senses, ability to move, and power to think.
- Removing the cerebellum (at the back of the brain) affected the animal's balance and how well they could coordinate their movements.
- Destroying the brainstem (the part connecting the brain to the spinal cord) caused the animal to die. This showed that the brainstem controls vital functions like blood circulation and breathing.
These experiments helped Flourens understand that the cerebral hemispheres are for thinking and sensing. The cerebellum helps with movement and balance. The brainstem controls basic life functions.
However, he couldn't find specific areas for memory or thinking in the brain. He thought these functions might be spread out across the brain. So, while he proved that different brain parts have different jobs, he didn't find very specific locations for every single function.
Flourens also studied the semicircular canals in the ears of pigeons. When he damaged one of these canals, the pigeons would fly in circles. This showed how important these canals are for balance.
Career and Recognition
Jean Pierre Flourens became very well-known. In 1828, Georges Cuvier chose him to give lectures on natural history at the Collège de France. That same year, he became a member of the Institute, a famous French scientific group.
He continued to advance in his career:
- In 1830, he became a lecturer on human anatomy.
- In 1832, he became a full professor of comparative anatomy at the museum of the Jardin du Roi.
- In 1833, he was made a permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences, as Cuvier had wished.
- In 1838, he was elected as a representative for his home area of Béziers.
- In 1840, he was chosen to join the French Academy, even over the famous writer Victor Hugo.
- In 1845, he received the high honor of being made a commander of the Legion of Honour.
- In 1846, he became a peer of France, a high position in government.
- In 1841, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
In March 1847, Flourens told the Academy of Sciences about his discovery. He found that chloroform could make animals lose feeling, showing its potential as an anesthetic.
After the revolution in 1848, he left politics completely. In 1855, he accepted a professorship in natural history at the Collège de France. He passed away in Montgeron, near Paris, on December 6, 1867.
Views on Evolution
Flourens did not agree with Darwinism, the theory of natural selection proposed by Charles Darwin. In 1864, he wrote a book called Examen du livre du M. Darwin sur l'Origine des Espèces (Examination of Mr. Darwin's book on the Origin of Species).
He believed in creationism and thought that species did not change over time. Flourens argued that Darwin was wrong to say "nature selects," because nature is not a person and cannot make choices. His book was never translated into English, so many people outside of France didn't read his arguments. However, other scientists like Thomas Henry Huxley disagreed with his criticisms of Darwin.
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Flourens para niños
