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French surgeon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernard Peyrilhe (1735–1804)[1] was a French surgeon, known as one of the founders of experimental cancer research.[2] Peyrilhe was born in Pompignan,[3] and became a lecturer at the Paris School of Surgery (École de Chirurgie).[1]
Bernard Peyrilhe | |
---|---|
Born | 1737 Pompignan, France |
Died | 1804 |
Nationality | French |
Known for | Pioneering cancer research and surgery |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Oncology |
In 1773, Peyrilhe was studying for a PhD,[4] when he wrote the first systematic review of cancer[5] in a prize-winning essay which he submitted to the Academy of Letters and Fine Arts in Lyon in response to an essay competition entitled What is Cancer?.[1] His essay covered the nature of the disease, its growth, treatment, and how a "virus" produced by the tumor caused wasting (cachexia).[5] At the time, the term "virus" meant any substance which came from an animal's body and which could transmit a disease.[6] Peyrilhe attempted to demonstrate this virus, by injecting an emulsion of fluid from a human breast cancer into a wound he had created on the back of a dog.[1][5] He kept the dog at his home to observe it, but the dog developed an abscess at the injection site and howled so much that Peyrilhe's servants drowned it.[7] As is now understood, the transfer of cancerous tissue between species is generally unsuccessful, as the recipient's immune system recognizes cells from a different species as foreign, and destroys them (a graft-versus-host interaction).[8]
Also in 1773, Peyrihle was the first surgeon to treat breast cancer by radical mastectomy which included both the pectoral muscle and axillary lymph nodes.[9] He considered that the risks of amputating the pectoral muscle were outweighed by the otherwise certain outcome of death.[10]
Peyrilhe also successfully treated ulceration with carbolic acid, which was, at the time, a recently discovered acid.[5]
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