Laennec, sa vie et son oeuvre [STETHOSCOPE; UNCOMMON 1st ed. SIGNED COPY of the Neurologist LANDOUZY]

Paris: J.-B. Baillière et Fils, 1904. 1st Edition. UNCOMMON 1st edition of Henri Saintignon's 1904 book "Laennec sa vie et son oeuvre," an extensive work on the French physician and inventor of the stethoscope, Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec (1781-1826). This work is largely available only in reprint.

To date, Saintignon is considered the most respected biographer of the life and work of Laennec. Laennec is considered the father of clinical auscultation and wrote the first descriptions of bronchiectasis and cirrhosis and also classified pulmonary conditions such as pneumonia, bronchiectasis, pleurisy, emphysema, pneumothorax, phthisis and other lung diseases from the sounds he heard with his invention. Later, he would determine that his diagnoses were supported by the observations he made during autopsies. Laënnec went on to publish the first seminal work on the use of listening to body sounds, De L'auscultation Mediate (On Mediate Auscultation). "Laënnec perfected the art of physical examination of the chest and introduced many clinical terms still used today" (Roguin, National Library of Medicine, 2006).

Saintignon's book explores Laennec's personal and professional life, his contributions to the field of medicine, and his impact on the practice of clinical diagnosis. It also delves into the historical and scientific context in which Laennec lived and worked, with insight into his discoveries and innovations in the field of medicine. This work was submitted for Saintignon's doctoral thesis in medicine.

It is the signed copy of Professor Landouzy (Louis Theophile Joseph Landouzy, prominent neurologist at the University of Paris Medical School. His armorial book collection stamp also appears on the half-title. Landouzy's name is associated with Landouzy-Dejerine syndrome, a type of muscular dystrophy with atrophic changes to the facial muscles and scapula-humeral region. He is also known to have supported the admission of women into medical school. Condition & Details: Paris: J.-B. Baillière et Fils. 4to (9 x 6 in). [2], 488, [4]. Bound in half-calf over marbled paper boards with five gilt-ruled bands at the spine. Marbled endpapers. Portrait frontispiece. Signed by Dr. Louis Theophile Joseph Landouzy. Minor scuffing at the edge tips. Slightly toned paper. Clean throughout. Very good condition.