François Achille Longet

Who was François Achille Longet?

François Achille Longet was a French anatomist and physiologist who was a native of Saint Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines.

He was a student of François Magendie, and a pioneer in the field of experimental physiology. In 1853 he attained the chair of physiology of the Faculté de Médecine in Paris. One of his better known students was German physiologist Moritz Schiff.

Longet is remembered for extensive research of the autonomic nervous system, and physiological experiments of the anterior and posterior columns of the spinal cord in regards to sensory and motor functionality. Also, he is credited with providing a detailed comprehensive description of nerve innervation of the larynx. With Jean Pierre Flourens, he performed pioneer experiments on the effects of ether and chloroform on the central nervous system in laboratory animals.