HEROES AND MARTYRS OF QUALITY AND SAFETY Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis: Master of the spirit of mathematical clinical science

In the Paris of Louis's day the second approach to medical knowledge—experimental physiology—was being developed by Xavier Bichat, Claude Bernard, Francois Magendie, and others. They used theory and hypothesis testing on controlled animal experiments 23 to show the cause of disease. Today this kind of reasoning might go as follows. Variation in DNA at this location causes these proteins to malfunction causing changes at the cell level which modify organ systems leading to symptoms and disease. This is a logical causal sequence, built on theory, and tested by controlled laboratory experi- mentation. Louis brought a third approach—his mathematical method. He carefully recorded for many patients their characteristics, symptoms, treatment and outcomes and he related symptoms and treatments to outcomes. His best known study was the evaluation of blood letting as a treatment.

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