The prefaces by Charcot

Abstract

The objective of this article was to examine the prefaces that Jean-Martin Charcot wrote for other colleagues’ books and to evaluate these short essays from three perspectives: scientific material discussed, medicopolitical strategies revealed, and larger thematic issues developed. Charcot (1825–1893) was the most celebrated clinical neurologist of his epoch. In his mid and late career, he wrote very few manuscripts, delegating such work to junior colleagues or to Bourneville, who compiled Charcot’s Complete Works. One particular source of direct writing from Charcot’s mature career is the group of prefaces he composed for selected monographs authored by other colleagues. The prefaces from the Gasser tabulation (Bibliothèque Charcot, Paris) of Charcot’s works were examined and analyzed in the context of Charcot’s career. Of the 21 prefaces, 10 concerned books by other colleagues with whom he had not worked, and 11 introduced books of his students or direct colleagues. The prefaces concerned primarily two topics of direct medical interest to Charcot: localization studies of cortical and spinal cord diseases, and the combined subject of hysteria and hypnotism. In placing the works in scientific context, Charcot systematically emphasized the contributions of French neurologists, largely focusing on the Salpêtrière school and its (his) discoveries. Charcot used these prefaces to summarize the major thematic elements of his career, drafting the essays in the context of such topics as medical specialization, the concept of experimental medicine, and the prioritization of human studies over experimental laboratory medicine. Although an exhaustive reading of Charcot’s entire opus is needed to provide a comprehensive view of his ideas, the short and pithy prefaces, comprising fewer than 60 pages, coalesce and distill the primary themes of his international career.