Gaston Contremoulins, 1869 - 1950

Patrick Mornet, Cole A. Giller

Description

How could a self-taught scholar of the calibre of Gaston Contremoulins be forgotten?

Driven by his fascination with photography and the discovery of X-rays by Roentgen in 1897, he was the first to invent a device capable of locating intracranial foreign bodies. He thus anticipated the development of stereotaxis, so crucial to modern medicine half a century later. He was recognized and appointed director of the main radiology department of Necker Hospital in Paris. Yet he was not a doctor!

His design of a complete radiological technology for three-dimensional visualization was a work of genius, foreshadowing the principles of the CT scanner. His interest in orthopedic problems led him to  develop sophisticated uses of radiographic images to manufacture prostheses and fusion instruments, thus founding a field he called «radiosurgery». He was a pioneer in radiation protection measures, fighting the widespread and erroneous belief that X-rays were harmless!

Although he was vigorously defended by the Academy of Science and the great surgeons of the Paris Hospital, his enemies managed to erase his name and work from the historical archives.

This work by Patrick Mornet places Contremoulins in his rightful position in the history of radiology: at the front!

Sujets

• Médecine
• Médecine Générale
• Medical
• History
• Histoire des sciences

Informations

• Publié par: EDP Sciences
• Date de parution: 18 mars 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782759822300
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 15 Mo

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VISIONARYPIONEER OFRADIOLOGY FORGOTTEN HERITAGE

1869 – 1950 GASTON CONTREMOULINS

Dr. Patrick MORNET Translated by Professor Cole A. Giller Preface byProfessor Jean-Francois Moreau

Patrick Mornet

Gaston Contremoulins, 1869-1950 Visionary Pioneer of Radiology

Forgotten heritage

Translated from the French by Professor Cole A. Giller Preface by Professor Jean-Francois Moreau

By the same author: , Gaston Contremoulins (1869-1950), Pionnier visionnaire de la Radiologie, Editions de l’AIHP, Paris, 2013. Lauréat 2017 du Prix d’Histoire de la Médecine de l’Académie nationale de Médecine et de la Société nationale d’Histoire de la Médecine.

Printed in France © 2019, EDP Sciences, 17 avenue du Hoggar, BP 112, Parc d’activités de Courtabœuf, 91944 Les Ulis Cedex A This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, recitation, broad-casting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in data bank. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is only permitted under the provisions of the French Copyright law of March 11, 1957. Violations fall under the prosecution act of the French Copyright law. ISBN (print): 978-2-7598-2229-4 - ISBN (ebook): 978-2-7598-2230-0

Table of Contents

Translator’s Preface

Second Preface

Introduction

Chapter I. Learning

Chapter II. The Adventure of X-rays Chapter III. The Metroradiography Service at Necker Hospital Chapter IV. The Quarrel: Doctors vs. Non-Doctors

Chapter V. Radiosurgery

Chapter VI. Radiation Protection

Chapter VII. Contremoulins and Money

Chapter VIII. Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Conclusion Epilogue Acknowledgements

Bibliography

 3  5  11  15  31  49  65  83  117  145  151  167  171  173  175

To Mme. Andree Madou, Vigilant guardian of the memory and archives of Gaston Contremoulins

To Dr. Isabelle Contremoulins, Granddaughter of Gaston Contremoulins

To Claire, my children and my grandchildren

To Marie, my wife

To my brother Denis

Translator’s Preface

Countless stories have been told and then forgotten over the course of history, but only a small fraction are resurrected later to be given a chance to be heard again. Stories that persist usually do because they impart sin- gular insights into human nature, or because they illuminate historical per- spective, or reveal long buried secrets. This book by Dr. Patrick Mornet, on the life and work of Gaston Contremoulins is a tapestry of such stories, forgotten for almost a century, and only recently rediscovered by chance. Included is the story of a young artist without medical training who rode the tsunami of scientific energy flowing through Paris in the late nineteenth century to become one of the most celebrated and innovative radiograhers of the time. There is also the story of how he was the first to invent the stereotactic method – now a cornerstone of modern medecine – and how it is widely but erroneously believed that the first development of stereotaxis did not occur until 50 years later. And there is the secret story of how a bitter struggle between physicians and non-physicians for control of the then nascent field of radiology led to a seemingly deliberate attempt to cast his name and contributions into obscurity. These story teach valuable lessons: that scientific ideas can be forgotten and remembered according to the needs of the time, and that innocent genius can fall victim to political battles. The radiologist Jean-François Moreau recognized their importance when he discovered them in the 1980’s, writing a series of articles to return the story to public memory. He was joined in this effort by Dr. Mornet, who authored several articles regarding Contremoulins as well as an authoritative biography, derived from hard- to-find primary and secondary sources. His book was written in French, and the majority of the information about Contremoulins remained in the French historical literature. It is therefore a great honor to be asked to translate Dr. Mornet’s book into English, and to help ensure its availability to a worldwide audience. Because I do not speak fluent French, my selection as translator must seem odd at best. But two things made this translation possible and, I hope, credible. The first is my familarity with stereotaxis and its technology from years of experience as a stereotactic neurosurgeon. The second is the availability of translation sofware, even though the English text produced from the French prose is often gibberish, similar to the dysphasic speech

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Gaston Contremoulins, 1869-1950. Visionary Pioneer of Radiology

following a brain injury. Fortunately, all neurosurgeons are skilled at under- standing dysphasic patients, and so I was thus able to discern meaning from the automatic translations. Nevertheless, I am sure that I have misinter- preted some of Dr. Mornet’s writing and missed some cultural references, and for that I apologize. Some of the names for streets and places are left in French, but placed in italics to preserve the sense of the reference. I have also included notes to explain terms that may not be familiar to all readers. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Patrick Mornet and Dr. Jean- François Moreau for their encouragement and help through this project, and for inspiring my interest in Contremoulins and his remarkable story.

Cole A. Giller, MD PhD. MBA Director, Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery Department of Neurosurgery Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia (U.S.A.)