Sigismond Jaccoud
Encyclopedia
Sigismond Jaccoud was a Swiss physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, born November 29, 1830, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

; died 1913.

Sigismond Jaccoud was born in 1830 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, where he went to school and was educated in music and the science of literature. In 1849 he went to 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...

 to study medicine - and supported himself in that city teaching music and literature. He became interne des hפpitaux in 1855. After graduation in 1859 he specialised in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

 and in 1860 defended his doctoral thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...

, on the pathogenesis
Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of a disease is the mechanism by which the disease is caused. The term can also be used to describe the origin and development of the disease and whether it is acute, chronic or recurrent...

 of albuminuria
Albuminuria
Albuminuria is a pathological condition wherein albumin is present in the urine. It is a type of proteinuria.Measurement=The amount of protein being lost in the urine can be quantified by collecting the urine for 24 hours, measuring a sample of the pooled urine, and extrapolating to the volume...

. In 1862 he became medecin des hopitaux, in 1863 professeur. In 1877 he was appointed professor of internal pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

 at the medical faculty and member of the Academy.

Jaccoud was a very famous and highly estimated lecturer at several of Paris' hospitals - L'Hôpital Saint-Antoine, l'Hôpital de la Charité, l'Hôpital Lariboisière and l'Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpétrière. Following the death of Ernest-Charles Lasègue
Charles Lasègue
Charles Lasègue, full name Ernest-Charles Lasègue was a French physician who was born in Paris. In 1847 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Paris, and during the following year was sent to Southern Russia by the French government to research an epidemic of cholera...

 (1816–1883) in 1883, he was also made professor of internal medicine at the Piti hospital in Paris.

A Swiss, Jaccoud was a very popular lecturer in Paris' hospitals in the late 19th century. In 1883 he published a three-volume work on pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

, comprising almost 3.000 pages. In rheumatology
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...

, and partly in cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

, Jaccoud was probably best known for his 23. Lecture, which has been perpetuated in medical history because of its description of Jaccoud's syndrome. At the turn of the 20th century rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...

 ravaged among children and youth, and the fact that there was, unlike today, no rational pharmaceutical therapy
Therapy
This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...

 available, interest concentrated on the natural course of the disease.

As he published his lectures in book form, they are still available for study - covering an impressive variety of medical questions. On tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, the greatest medical problem of the time, with its numerous complications, no less than ten lectures were needed.

In his books he emphasised how he enjoyed thorough clinical examinations, epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

, research and teaching.

Jaccoud died in 1913, at the age of 83 years.

Jaccoud published numerous articles in Dictionnaire de Médecine et de Chirurgie pratiques of which he was co-publisher.

Terms

  • Jaccoud's dissociated fever — fever with slow and irregular pulse in tuberculous meningitis of adults.
  • Jaccoud's sign — prominence of the aorta
    Aorta
    The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...

     in the suprasternal notch: an indication of leukemia
    Leukemia
    Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...

    .
Dorland's Medical Dictionary (1938)
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