A landmark in the history of physiology

LE GALLOIS, Julien Jean Cesar.

Expériences sur le principe de la vie, notamment sur celui des mouvemens du coeur, et sur le siège de ce principe; suivies du rapport fait a la premiere classe de l'Institut sur celles relatives aux mouvemens du coeur.

Paris: D'Hautel, 1812.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Item #002055

8vo (203x127 mm). [6], [i] ii-xxiv, [1] 2-364, [2] pp., including half title, one large folding engraved plate and errata leave bound at end. Minor occasional spotting and browning to text. Full sheepskin with plain spine tooled in gilt and with red morocco label (little wear to hinges and head of spine), marbled endpapers and edges. Fine, wide-margined copy. Collated complete. ----

Norman 1324; Heirs of Hippocrates 1251; Wellcome III, p. 479; Waller 5679; Cushing L31; DSB VIII, p.132; Garrison-M. 928. Le Gallois (1770-1814) was one of the earliest of the experimental physiologists. In this, his principal work, he was the first, after Borelli, to revive the neurogenic theory of the heart's action. He describes the action of the vagus nerve on respiration. He showed that bilateral section of the vagus can produce fatal broncho-pneumonia.
Le Gallois discovered the site of the respiratory center in a circumscribed area of the medulla oblongata, a discovery that replaced the belief that respiration depended on the entire brain. He also described the action of the vagus nerve on respiration, showed that bilateral section of the vagus can produce fatal broncho- pneumonia, and revived the neurogenic theory of the heart's action which states that the motor power of the heart comes from the spinal cord via the branches of the sympathetic nervous system (Norman 1324).
"His experiments were remarkable in the diversity and ingenuity of their design and arranged in a logical sequence. Le Gallois's unshakable belief in the supreme importance of observations and well-performed experiments, together with his reserve in interpreting his data, indicate that he was a scientist of great stature." (DSB VIII, p.134).
Il fut un des premiers physiologistes à pratiquer la méthode expérimentale et l'expérimentation animale. Il mena notamment une série d'expériences sur des animaux pour clarifier le mécanisme de la respiration. Par décapitation de vertébrés ou d'autres types de destruction ciblée des connexions nerveuses dans le cerveau et la moelle épinière, il est venu à la conclusion que la respiration est contrôlée par un centre respiratoire, qui est situé dans le bulbe rachidien. Il fut le premier à étudier le problème de la théorie neurogénique par la méthode de destruction progressive des portions successives du système nerveux central. Le Gallois fit des expériences sur le système vasculaire, la respiration artificielle, l'oxygénation et la conservation du sang.

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