Laennec, R.T.H. (1781–1826)
Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41995-4_558
English Names
René Laennec
Original Names
René Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec
Date, Country, and City of Birth
February 17, 1781, Quimper, Brittany, France
Date, Country, and City of Death
August 13, 1826, Kerlouanec, Brittany, France
History of Life
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec (1781–1826) is considered as the father of pneumology. He added the most valuable tool for the physical examination of chest diseases by his invention of the stethoscope. His complete dedication to medicine and solid knowledge of pathology were essential to our modern understanding of disease.
Rene Laennec was born to Michelle and Theóphile Laennec in Quimper, a charming small town in the peninsula of Brittany on February 17, 1781. His life spanned the most tumultuous years of France: the periods of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic and the post-Napoleonic periods. His mother died probably of tuberculosis when he was 6 years old. His father, an eccentric man who dreamed himself a poet and lived...
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References and Further Reading
- Bishop, P. J. (1981). Reception of the stethoscope and Laennec’s book. Thorax, 36(7), 487–492.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
- Duffin, J. (1998). To see with a better eye: A life of R.T.H. Laennec. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
- Keers, R. Y. (1981). Laennec: His medical history. Thorax, 36(2), 91–94.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
- L’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). (2010). École de santé de Paris, Faculté de médecine de Paris, Société de l’école de médecine, in Correspondance familiale, vie intellectuelle. [cited 2010 July 10th]; Available from: http://correspondancefamiliale.ehess.fr/document.php?id=3001
- Nuland, S. (1988). Doctors: The biography of medicine (1st ed.). New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
- Porter, R. (1997). The greatest benefit to mankind: A medical history of humanity (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
- Reynolds, H. Y. (2004). President’s address: R.T.H. Laënnec, M.D.–clinicopathologic observations, using the stethoscope, made chest medicine more scientific. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 115, 1–29.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
- Sakula, A. (1981). R T H laënnec 1781–1826 his life and work: A bicentenary appreciation. Thorax, 36(2), 81–90.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
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