Jacques Mathieu Delpech (1777–1832) was born in Toulouse and, at age 12, became apprenticed to the surgeon Alexis Larrey. In treating casualties of Napoleonic wars, his techniques of sterile handling of wounds predated Semmelweis. In 1828, he published De l'orthomorphie, a two-volume text with accompanying atlas. This comprehensive text embodied such concepts as the importance of muscle tone and balance in joint stability and posture and the various etiologies of scoliosis. In it, he firmly established the tuberculous nature of Pott disease. Outside Paris, Delpech founded an elaborate rehabilitation facility that emphasized exercise in the treatment of postural pain and deformity. He was murdered by one of his patients in 1832.1, 2
References
1.
1
Delpech JM. De l'orthomorphie, vols. 1 and 2, atlas. Paris: Gabon; 1828;.
2.
2
LeVay D. In: The history of orthopaedics. Park Ridge, NJ: Parthenon Publishing Group; 1990;p. 239–244.
FULL TEXT00578-8/journalimage?img=PIIS1529943002005788.fx1.lrg.gif&fig=&kwhquery=&issn=1529-9430&ishighres=false&allhighres=false&free=yes','journalimage');)
