Joseph Babinski 959172 216098471 2008-05-31T01:49:47Z Cydebot 1215485 Robot - Moving category Polish-French people to French people of Polish descent per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 May 13]]. [[Image:Joseph Babinski15.jpg|thumb|left]] [[Image:Pr Charcot DSC09405.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Dr. Joseph Babiński ''(rear)'' supports a "[[hysteria|hysterical]]" female patient during demonstration by ''(left)'' Professor [[Jean-Martin Charcot|Charcot]].]] '''Joseph Jules François Félix Babinski''' (born [[November 17]], [[1857]], [[Paris]]; died [[October 29]], [[1932]], [[Paris]]) was a [[France|French]] [[neurology|neurologist]] of [[Poland|Polish]] ethnicity. He is best known for his [[1896]] description of the [[Babinski sign]], a pathological [[plantar reflex]] indicative of [[corticospinal tract]] damage. ==Life== Babiński was the son of a Polish engineer and his wife who in [[1848]] fled [[Warsaw]] for [[Paris]] because of a Russian reign of terror instigated to stall Polish attempts at achieving independence. Babiński received his medical degree from the [[University of Paris]] in 1884. He came early to Professor [[Jean-Martin Charcot|Charcot]] at Paris' ''[[Salpêtrière]]'' Hospital and became his favorite student. Charcot's 1893 death left Babiński without support, and he subsequently never participated in qualifying academic competitions. Free of teaching duties, while working at the ''Hôpital de la Pitié'' he was left with ample time to devote himself to clinical [[neurology]]. He was a masterly clinician, minimally dependent on [[neuropathology|neuropathological]] examinations and laboratory tests. Babiński also took an interest in the [[pathogenesis]] of [[hysteria]] and was the first to present acceptable [[differential diagnosis|differential-diagnostic]] criteria for separating hysteria from [[organic disease]]s, and coined the concept of ''pithiatisme''. In 1896, at a meeting of the ''Société de Biologie'', Babiński, in a 26-line presentation, delivered the first report on the ''"phenomène des orteils"'', i.e., that while the normal reflex of the sole of the foot consists of a [[plantar reflex]] of the toes, an injury to the [[pyramidal tract]] will show up in an isolated [[dorsal]] [[flexion]] of the great toe—"[[Babinski's sign]]." During [[World War I]], Babiński had charge of many traumatic neurological cases at the Pitié Hospitals. He was [[professor]] of neurology at the [[University of Paris]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia] Babiński wrote over 200 papers on nervous disorders. With [[Jules Froment]] he published ''Hysteropithiatisme en Neurologie de Guerre'' (1917), which was translated into [[English language|English]] in 1918 by Sir H. Rolleston. Babiński published some of his works in [[Polish language|Polish]]. Babiński lived with his younger brother, Henri Babinski, a distinguished engineer who was also a famous cook and published as "Ali Baba" a classic [[cookbook]]. A genius in neurology, Babiński died on [[December 13]], [[1932]], the same year as two great Polish neurologists, [[Edward Flatau]] and [[Samuel Goldflam]]. In his last years he had suffered from [[Parkinson's disease]]. ==Recognition== Babiński lived to see his achievements in French neurology internationally acclaimed. He was honored by [[Wilno University]], by the American Neurological Society, and by several other foreign societies. ==Fjeldjager== Less well known is Babiński's collaborator, John Arne Fjeldjager, who introduced the Fjeldjager procedure for testing patients thought to be [[catatonic]] or suffering from [[stroke]]. The Fjeldjager procedure is done by pouring water down the patient's forehead and over his eyes to see whether he reflexly blinks. With a true catatonic state or stroke, the patient does not. This phenomenon is now known as "Neuman's syndrome." Most of the studies were conducted in a jail setting. The first patient found not actually to be in a genuine catatonic state was William Wallace Ward, who had [[simulate]]d the condition for two years. ==Associated eponyms== * ''[[Babinski's sign]]'': A pathological reflex where the great toe extends in presence of an injury to the pyramidal tract. * ''[[Anton-Babinski syndrome]]'': A condition characterized by denial of [[blindness]] in lesions of the [[occipital lobe]]. Named with neurologist [[Gabriel Anton]]. * ''Babinski-Fröhlich syndrome'' or ''[[Adiposogenital Dystrophy|Adiposo-genital syndrome]]'': Condition characterized by feminine [[obesity]] and [[sexual infantilism]] in case of [[pituitary tumour]]s. Named with [[pharmacologist]] [[Alfred Fröhlich]]. * ''Babinski-Froment syndrome'': Vasomotor and trophic disorders, diffuse [[amyotrophy]] and muscle contractions subsequently to traumatic tissue damage. Named with neurologist [[Jules Froment]]. * ''Babinski-Nageotte syndrome'': Syndrome seen in unilateral bulbar lesions of the medullobulbar transitional region. Named with neurologist [[Jean Nageotte]]. * ''Babinski-Vaquez syndrome'': [[Tabes dorsalis]] associated with cardiac and arterial pathology as late manifestation of [[syphilis]]. Named with hematologist [[Louis Henri Vaquez]]. * ''Babinski-Weil test'': Test for demonstration of a laterodeviation in case of vestibular disorders. * ''Babinski-Jarkowski rule'': For localization of a medullary lesion. ==See also== *[[List of Poles#Biology|List of Poles]] == External links == * [http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/370.html Biography of Joseph Babinski], from whonamedit.com [[Category:Polish neurologists|Babinski, Jozef]] [[Category:French neuroscientists|Babinski, Joseph]] [[Category:History of neuroscience|Babinski, Joseph]] [[Category:1857 births|Babinski, Joseph]] [[Category:1932 deaths|Babinski, Joseph]] [[Category:French people of Polish descent|Babinski, Joseph]] [[Category:People from Paris|Babinski, Joseph]] [[da:Joseph Babinski]] [[de:Joseph Babinski]] [[es:Joseph Babiński]] [[fr:Joseph Babinski]] [[gl:Joseph Babinski]] [[it:Joseph Babinski]] [[nl:Joseph François Félix Babinski]] [[ja:ジョゼフ・ババンスキー]] [[no:Joseph Babinski]] [[pl:Józef Babiński]] [[pt:Joseph Babinski]] [[ro:Joseph Babiński]] [[ru:Бабинский, Жозеф]] [[sr:Жозеф Бабински]] [[sv:Joseph Babinski]]