OETTINGER William Etude sur les paralysies alcooliques (névrites multiples chez les alcooliques).

First edition of this work on the study of alcohol-induced paralysis, with the author’s inscription “a mon ami le Dr. Duroussin, souvenir de Lariboisière” on the half-title page.

A native of Switzerland, William Oettinger (1856–1926) began his medical studies in Geneva before continuing his course at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris. He commenced his internship in 1881 in Parisian hospitals, including, notably, the maternity ward at Lariboisière Hospital. It was probably in this context that he met his colleague, Dr Gaspard Duroussin, to whom this letter is addressed. The latter had defended his thesis in 1880, entitled Contribution à l’étude de la mortalité chez les femmes en couches.

The mention of “souvenir de Lariboisière” bears witness to the personal and collegial relationship forged between the two doctors during those formative years. This letter thus offers a valuable insight into the professional, intellectual and friendly bonds that were forged between young doctors within Parisian hospitals, and the way in which these relationships could continue beyond their training period.

In the 19^th century, research into alcohol-induced brain damage relied primarily on the concept of chronic alcoholism formalised by Magnus Huss, and focused mainly on the cerebral manifestations of the disease. The first studies on damage to the nervous system did not appear until 1881 with the work of Gayet and Carl Wernicke.

Thus, William Oettinger proposed to study “a little-explored aspect of alcoholism, namely the paralyses directly attributable to it”. In this study, he focuses on lesions of the peripheral nervous system and on the way in which alcohol acts to cause them.

A fine copy.