Antoine Ferrein was a French anatomist who was a native of Frespech

Frespech

Frespech is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France....

, which today is a commune in the arrondissement of Villeneuve-sur-Lot

Arrondissement of Villeneuve-sur-Lot

The arrondissement of Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an arrondissement of France, located in the Lot-et-Garonne département, in the Aquitaine région...

. He was a professor at the Collège Royal in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and in 1742 became a member of the Académie des sciences.

Ferrein is remembered for his work involving the physiology

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 of voice, and is credited for coining the term cordes vocales (vocal cords). He postulated that the ligaments of the larynx

Larynx

The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...

 were analogous to the cords on a violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

. He also made the correlation between the size of the glottis

Glottis

The glottis is defined as the combination of the vocal folds and the space in between the folds .-Function:...

 and the loudness of a person's voice. There are several anatomical eponyms attributed to Antoine Ferrein, including:

• Ferrein's canal: (rivus lacrimalis); A space between the eyelid
  Eyelid
  An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. With the exception of the prepuce and the labia minora, it has the thinnest skin of the whole body. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid to "open" the eye. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily...
  
  s when closed and the eyeball through which tears flow to the lacrimal punctum
  Lacrimal punctum
  The lacrimal canaliculi, one in each eyelid, commence at minute orifices, termed puncta lacrimalia , on the summits of the papillae lacrimales, seen on the margins of the lids at the lateral extremity of the lacus lacrimalis...
  
  .
• Ferrein's foramen: Hiatus of facial canal that makes passage for the greater petrosal nerve.
• Ferrein's ligament: The thickened external portion of the capsule of the temporomandibular joint
  Temporomandibular joint
  The temporomandibular joint is the joint of the jaw and is frequently referred to as TMJ. There are two TMJs, one on either side, working in unison. The name is derived from the two bones which form the joint: the upper temporal bone which is part of the cranium , and the lower jaw bone called the...
  
  .
• Ferrein's pyramid: Also known as the medullary ray
  Medullary ray (anatomy)
  In anatomy, the medullary ray is the middle part of the cortical lobule or renal lobule, consisting of a group of straight tubes to the collecting ducts.Their name is potentially misleading -- the "medullary" refers to their destination, not their location...
  
  , which is the center of the renal lobule, and is shaped like a small pyramid.
• Ferrein's vasa aberrantia: Aberrant biliary canaliculi that have no connectivity with hepatic lobules.