Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens.

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A Moment in History

Jean-Louis Petit

Jean Louis Petit
(1674 – 1750)

French surgeon and anatomist, Jean Louis Petit was born in Paris in on March 13, 1674.  His family rented an apartment at his house to Alexis Littre (1658 – 1726), a French anatomist. Petit became an apprentice of Littre at seven years of age, helping him in the dissections for his lectures and at an early age became the assistant in charge of the anatomic amphitheater.

Because of Petit’s dedication to anatomy and medicine, in 1690 at the age of sixteen, became a disciple of a famous Paris surgeon, Castel.

In 1692, Petit entered the French army and performed surgery in two military campaigns. By 1693 he started delivering lectures and was accepted as a great surgeon, being invited to the most difficult operations.  In 1700 he was appointed Chief Surgeon of the Military School in Paris and in the same year he received the degree of Master of Surgery from the Faculty of Paris.

In 1715 he was made a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and an honorary member of the Royal Society of London. He was appointed by the King as the first Director General of the Royal Academy of Surgery when it was founded in 1731.

Petit’s written works are of historical importance.  “Traite des Maladies des Os” ( A Treatise on Bone Diseases);  “Traite des Maladies Chirurgicales et des Operation” (A Treatise on Surgical Diseases and their Operations” This last book was published posthumously in 1774. He also published a monograph on hemorrhage, another on lachrymal fistula, and others.

He was one of the first to perform choIecystotomy and mastoidotomy. His original tourniquet design for amputations saved many in the battlefield and the design of the same surgical instrument today has not changed much since its invention by him.

His name is remembered in the lumbar triangle, also called the "triangle of Petit", and the abdominal hernia that can ensue through that area of weakness, the lumbar hernia or "Petit's hernia".

Sources:
1. “Jean Louis Petit – A Sketch of his Life, Character, and Writings” Hayne, AP San Fran Western Lancet 1875 4: 446-454
2. “Oeuvres compl?tes de Jean-Louis Petit” 1837 Imprimerie de F. Chapoulaud
3. Extraits de l'eloge de Jean-Louis Petit Ius dans Ia seance publique de I' Academie royale de chirurgie du 26 mai 1750” Louis A. Chirurgie 2001: 126 : 475- 81


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Depression


This is a series of articles on depression published as a community service. The information in these articles follow our Privacy and Security Guidelines and cannot be construed as medical guidance. For additional information and counseling, consult with your physician or the appropriate health care professional of your choice. You can also find information on TMS here.


UPDATED: Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad. There are also those dreaded "winter blues". But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days, usually with no problems or persistent symptoms. Some people may even say that they are "depressed". Although this is true, that person is not clinically depressed.

When an individual has clinical depression, there are physical changes that happen within the brain which reflect in attitudes, mood, symptoms, and actions.

Clinical depression is a common but serious mental disorder that affects over 20 million people in the United States, many of which will never seek diagnosis or treatment. Patients present with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, abnormal patterns of sleep or appetite, gruesome nightmares, and poor concentration. Moreover, depression may often come with symptoms of anxiety and varying complex presentations of bipolar disorder.

Depression
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These problems can become chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairment in an individual’s ability to take care of his or her everyday responsibilities. At its worst, depression can lead to a patient's attempt on their life. Clinical Depression interferes with daily life and causes pain for both the individual, their families, and loved ones. Patients with depressive disorder often go from one job to another, cannot work, or eventually end in disability, being maintained by their family or loved ones.

Many people afflicted with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) never seek treatment. This is specially true in males, where the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that ”fewer than 25% of male sufferers worldwide will seek treatment because of the social stigma associated with mental disorders including depression.”

Properly and timely treated, even those with the most severe depression, can get better. Medications, psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are the most common methods to treat depression. As patients move from one medication to the next level medication as well as augmentation medication, the annual cost for medication can be staggering, as well as the common, insidious, and problematic systemic side effects of both the drug therapy and ECT therapy.

The main objective of all treatments for MDD is to attain remission, but in many cases just reducing the symptoms of MDD and reducing the amount and types of medication used is enough to bring the patient back to a productive life and enhance the relationship with their families and loved ones.


Next article: Symptoms of Depression


Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a revolutionary treatment approved by the FDA in 2008. TMS has been proven safe and effective in the treatment of MDD with minimal or no side-effects. For more information on TMS click here.

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