Fulgence Raymond

Who was Fulgence Raymond?

Fulgence Raymond was a French neurologist born in Saint-Christophe-sur-le-Nais, Indre-et-Loire.

Originally trained as a veterinarian, he later studied human medicine under Alfred Vulpian in Paris. In 1877 he was chef de clinique under Germain Sée, becoming médecin des hôpitaux during the following year, and receiving his habilitation in 1880.

In 1894 he succeeded Jean Martin Charcot as chair of neurology at the Faculty of Medicine; a position he held until his death in 1910. During his career he worked with several famous physicians, including Joseph Babinski, Georges Marinesco and Pierre Marie. Radiologist Jean-Athanase Sicard was a prominent student of his.

Raymond made contributions in research of syringomyelia, neurasthenia, poliomyelitis, tabes dorsalis and diseases of the cauda equina, to name a few. He also investigated hemianesthesia, a condition involving semihemispheric loss of sensitivity due to lesions of the cerebral cortex. With psychologist Pierre Janet he performed studies on neurosis and psychosomatic disorders. With Janet, he co-wrote "Névroses et idées fixes" and "Les obsessions et la psychasthénie".