Childhood
René Théophile Hyacinthe Laënnec was born He began his formal medical education and training years later when he finished his service and moved to Paris. At age twenty two he received his medical degree.in at Quimper Brittany, France on February 17th in 1781. He was sent to live with his uncle in Nantes at the age of five when his mother died of tuberculosis. His father was a lawyer and due to his inability to properly care for his son he sent René to live with his uncle. Laënnec suffered from health problems at a young age, prone to bouts of fever and thought to be asthmatic. Slightly limited due to his sickliness Laënnec found solace in music and poetry. was a doctor and had a large influence on Laënnec. At age twelve Laënnec was moved to Nantes with his uncle, Dr. Guillame François Laënnec, who was Dean of the faculty of medicine at the university. He was inspired by his uncle to pursue a career in medicine and caring for others and at only fourteen years old Laënnec was already helping to care for the sick and the wounded at the Hôtel Dieu in Nantes. By the age of 18 he was serving in the French army as a third-class surgeon.
Medical Journey
Upon finishing his service and moving to Paris in 1819 he began his formal medical education and training at the medical school of Jean-Nicholas Corvisart de Marets. At age twenty two he received his medical degree. In 1800 he entered the École Pratique in Paris studying dissection in Guillaume Dupuytren’s laboratory where he was heavily influenced by his teachers Nicolas Corvisart de Marest, Napoleon's lifetime physician, and Gaspard Laurent Bayle especially. They particularly stimulated his interest in chest medicine and diagnosis of diseases of the chest with a focus on tuberculosis. In the same year he entered École Pratique Laënnec also won his first prizes in medicine and surgey at the medical school. The following year he published his first paper and gained attention for his writings on peritonitis, amenorrhea and liver disease while serving as editor of the Journal de Médecine. Laënnec gradually gained respect and he began to give lessons on morbid anatomy. He continued to work hard and later announced his
classification of anatomical lesions into encephaloid and cirrhous
types. He also found that the tubercle lesion could be present in all
organs of the body and was identical with that which had previously been
thought to be limited to the lungs. In 1804 Laënnec went on to graduate in medicine with a thesis entitled,
“Propositions sur la doctrine d’Hippocrate, relativement á la médecine
practique.” That same year he became an associate of the Société de
l’École de Médecine. Family troubles and health problems provided a minor setback to Laënnec but after taking some time off in Brittany he was ready to return to work. He returned to Paris and became an editor-shareholder of the Journal de Médecine. His prestige caused his private practice to flourish and he was appointed personal physician to Cardinal Joseph Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon I. During this time he also founded the Athénée Médical in 1808, which later merged with the Société Académique de Paris and wrote several articles on pathological anatomy. During the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) Laënnec was given control of the wards in the Salpêtriére reserved for wounded Breton soldiers. Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1816 Laënnec was was offered a position as physician at Necker Hospital in Paris. In 1822 he was appointed to the chair and professor of Medicine at the College of France. Then in January 1823 he became a full member of the French Academy of Medicine and professor at the medical clinic of the Charité. He went on to become an internationally renowned lecturer, overcoming his asthma to present riveting lessons. His colleagues and students alike revered Laënnec. In 1824 he was awarded the honor of a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. His private practice increased further and he went on to treat many distinguished persons.
His Death
Laënnec, like his other family members, grew physically weaker due to consumption. As his health continued to deteriorate he refused to believe that he too was succumbing to tuberculosis. By the summer of 1826 his fever, productive cough, and shortness of breath were relentless. He was forced to leave Paris and return to his childhood home in Brittany where there was a temporary improvement in his health. During the time before his death he asked his nephew to auscultate his chest. His nephew's findings were familiar as well as distressing; by his own invention of the stethoscope he could no longer deny the truth that he was dying from tuberculosis. Ironic that the mystery he worked to unravel and understand with his stethoscope would one day cause his death. He died August 13th, 1826, leaving his scientific papers, watch, papers, and his beloved stethoscope to his nephew.