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The Laennec bicentennial
The Laennec Bicentennial * PAUL
D. KLIGFIELD.
MD
New York, New York
Cardiologists in the United States join with physicians around the world this month in remembering Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec on the occasion of the bicentennial of his birth. Quite naturally, the inventor of the stethoscope remains honored in his native France, where many of the historic locations associated with the frail but energetic Breton who founded bedside chest diagnosis may be visited. Laennec was born in February 1781 in Quimper, a port city in western Brittany. His birthplace along the Rue de Quai adjacent to the river Odet no longer exists, but an imposing memorial statue has been erected that overlooks the Place St. Corentin next to the town’s great gothic cathedral. In Nantes, Laennec’s childhood home still stands in the Place Buffay, the site of one of the Terror’s most active guillotines. Although the old Hotel Dieu of Nantes has been thoroughly modernized, a small room in the nearby medical school library has been dedicated to the discoverer of mediate auscultation and contains a fascinating exhibit of texts, portraits, manuscript material and personal memorabilia relating to Laennec. One of his residences in Paris stands unmarked at 23, Rue du Cherche Midi, a brisk walk from the Hbpital Necker, where in 1816, a rolled quire of paper served as the first stethoscope and where today, Laennec’s achievement is commemorated by a plaque at the hospital’s outer gate. A short drive from Quimper leads to the wooded manor of Kerlouarnec, the country home near Ploare to which Laennec frequently retired in ill health after publication of De 1’Auscultation Mhdiate in 1819. It is now a private estate. Here, surrounded by his beloved Breton fields, Laennec died in 1826 at the age of 45. His simple grave may be visited in the nearby hillside cemetery along the road leading to Douarnenez. But clearly, his true memorial exists every time we examine a patient. Insight into the personality of Laennec is available in the English translation of Kervran’s biography,’ From the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York. Manuscript received November 20. 1980, accepted December 1. 1980. Address for reprints: Paul D. Kligfield, MD, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, The New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, 525 East 68 Street, New York, New York 10021.
FIGURE 1. Statue of Laennec in the Place St. Corentin, Quimper
which supplements more traditional accounts of his life and times.2*3 The splendid comprehensive biography by Rouxeau 4,5 has not been translated. A recent facsimile of the 1821 English edition of Laennec’s masterpiece is available6 for those who wish to review his classic observations. References 1. Kervran R. Laennec, His Life and Times (translated by AbrahamsCurie1 DC). New York: Pergamon, 1960. 2. Webb GB. Ret-k Theophile Hvacinthe Laennec. a Memoir. New York: Hoeber, 1928. _ 3. Hale-White W. Translation of Selected Passages From De I’Auscultation Mediate, With a Bioaraohv. New York: Wood. 1923. 4. Rouxeau A. Laennec avant leO6. Paris: Balliere, 1912. 5. Rouxeau A. Laennec apres 1806. Paris: Balliere, 1921. 6. Laennec RTH. A Treatise on the Diseases of the Chest (translated by John Forbes). London: Underwood, 1821. (Also available: Birmingham, Alabama: Classics of Medicine Library, 1979).
Editorials published by the Journal reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Journal or of the American College of Cardiology. l
February 1981
The American Journal of CARDIOLOGY
Volume 47
377
D. KLIGFIELD.
MD
New York, New York
Cardiologists in the United States join with physicians around the world this month in remembering Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec on the occasion of the bicentennial of his birth. Quite naturally, the inventor of the stethoscope remains honored in his native France, where many of the historic locations associated with the frail but energetic Breton who founded bedside chest diagnosis may be visited. Laennec was born in February 1781 in Quimper, a port city in western Brittany. His birthplace along the Rue de Quai adjacent to the river Odet no longer exists, but an imposing memorial statue has been erected that overlooks the Place St. Corentin next to the town’s great gothic cathedral. In Nantes, Laennec’s childhood home still stands in the Place Buffay, the site of one of the Terror’s most active guillotines. Although the old Hotel Dieu of Nantes has been thoroughly modernized, a small room in the nearby medical school library has been dedicated to the discoverer of mediate auscultation and contains a fascinating exhibit of texts, portraits, manuscript material and personal memorabilia relating to Laennec. One of his residences in Paris stands unmarked at 23, Rue du Cherche Midi, a brisk walk from the Hbpital Necker, where in 1816, a rolled quire of paper served as the first stethoscope and where today, Laennec’s achievement is commemorated by a plaque at the hospital’s outer gate. A short drive from Quimper leads to the wooded manor of Kerlouarnec, the country home near Ploare to which Laennec frequently retired in ill health after publication of De 1’Auscultation Mhdiate in 1819. It is now a private estate. Here, surrounded by his beloved Breton fields, Laennec died in 1826 at the age of 45. His simple grave may be visited in the nearby hillside cemetery along the road leading to Douarnenez. But clearly, his true memorial exists every time we examine a patient. Insight into the personality of Laennec is available in the English translation of Kervran’s biography,’ From the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York. Manuscript received November 20. 1980, accepted December 1. 1980. Address for reprints: Paul D. Kligfield, MD, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, The New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, 525 East 68 Street, New York, New York 10021.
FIGURE 1. Statue of Laennec in the Place St. Corentin, Quimper
which supplements more traditional accounts of his life and times.2*3 The splendid comprehensive biography by Rouxeau 4,5 has not been translated. A recent facsimile of the 1821 English edition of Laennec’s masterpiece is available6 for those who wish to review his classic observations. References 1. Kervran R. Laennec, His Life and Times (translated by AbrahamsCurie1 DC). New York: Pergamon, 1960. 2. Webb GB. Ret-k Theophile Hvacinthe Laennec. a Memoir. New York: Hoeber, 1928. _ 3. Hale-White W. Translation of Selected Passages From De I’Auscultation Mediate, With a Bioaraohv. New York: Wood. 1923. 4. Rouxeau A. Laennec avant leO6. Paris: Balliere, 1912. 5. Rouxeau A. Laennec apres 1806. Paris: Balliere, 1921. 6. Laennec RTH. A Treatise on the Diseases of the Chest (translated by John Forbes). London: Underwood, 1821. (Also available: Birmingham, Alabama: Classics of Medicine Library, 1979).
Editorials published by the Journal reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Journal or of the American College of Cardiology. l
February 1981
The American Journal of CARDIOLOGY
Volume 47
377