Last update:
   29-Apr-2026
 

Arch Hellen Med, 43(4), July-August 2026, 559-562

HISTORY OF MEDICINE

The development of cardiology in the 19th century at the Paris School of Medicine

G. Papastavrou,1 S. Michaleas,1 I. Dimitriadis,1G. Marinos,2 M. Karamanou1
1Department of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens
2Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Jean Nicolas Corvisart (1755–1821) played a pivotal role in initiating major advances in cardiology, preparing the ground for the emergence of clinical medicine in the 19th century. The rise of the anatomoclinical method at the Paris School of Medicine decisively contributed to the establishment of cardiology as a distinct medical specialty. Clinical examination techniques were expanded through the reintroduction of percussion, promoted by Corvisart, and auscultation with the stethoscope, invented by René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec (1781–1826).

Key words: History of cardiology, Jean Nicolas Corvisart, Jules-Étienne Marry, Pierre-Carl Édouard Potain, René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec.

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