Charcot's paradox

• Main Authors: Maren de Moraes e Silva, Alex Tiburtino Meira, Olivier Walusinski, Carlos Henrique Ferreira de Camargo, Hélio Afonso Ghizoni Teive
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO)
• Series: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
• Subjects: Neurology; history; Jean-Martin Charcot
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2019000800590&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893), considered the father of modern neurology, had a particular interest in pathology and learned to value anatomical findings. Among his main contributions is the use of the anatomo-clinical method in neurology. Although described as cold and impatient in his interpersonal relations, Charcot had a great affection for animals. He had two dogs in his home, which he called Carlo and Sigurd, and a little monkey, Rosalie. Despite his fascination with neuropathology and anatomo-clinical correlations, Charcot disapproved of studies using animal species other than humans, a seemingly paradoxical attitude. As a result, Charcot's human studies resulted in important advances in neurology as, prior to his research, anatomical observations of animals were extrapolated to humans, leading to conceptual errors.