Joseph Jules Dejerine facts for kids
Joseph Jules Dejerine (born August 3, 1849 – died February 26, 1917) was a famous French neurologist. A neurologist is a doctor who studies the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. He made important discoveries about how the brain works and how different parts of it control our bodies.
Biography
Joseph Jules Dejerine was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His parents were French. During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Dejerine volunteered at a hospital in Geneva. In 1871, he decided to study medicine in Paris, France.
In Paris, he became a student of Alfred Vulpian, another well-known neurologist. After finishing his studies, Dejerine earned many awards. In 1877, he started working at the Bicêtre Hospital. There, he set up a special laboratory to study diseases.
By 1886, he became a professor. This allowed him to focus his work on neurology. From 1895, he worked at the Hôpital Salpêtrière. He became a professor of the history of medicine in 1901. In 1911, he received a senior role as a professor of neurology at the University of Paris.
In 1888, Dejerine married one of his students, Augusta Marie Klumpke. She was also a doctor. In fact, in 1887, she was the first woman to become an "interne des hôpitaux" in Paris. This was a big achievement for women in medicine at the time.
Dejerine passed away in 1917 at 68 years old. He had been working hard in a military hospital during World War I. His work during the war made him very tired and sick. In 1949, people remembered his birth 100 years later at a big meeting in Paris.
Advancements in medicine
Dejerine was one of the first scientists to study how different parts of the brain have specific jobs. For example, he showed that some people might have trouble reading words (a condition called pure alexia). This can happen if certain parts of their brain, like the supramarginal and angular gyri, are damaged.
He also studied a problem called thalamic syndrome. This condition affects the thalamus, a part of the brain that helps control our senses.
Dejerine wrote many scientific papers over 40 years. Later in his career, he became interested in psychology. He believed that the personality of the psychotherapist (the person helping a patient with their mind) was very important. He thought it was key to how well they could help someone.
- "In man, emotion is almost everything and reason very little" (J. Dejerine)
See also
In Spanish: Joseph Jules Dejerine para niños
