History of MS (5): Jean Cruveilhier (1791 – 1874)

Jean Cruveilhier was an eminent Parisian anatomist who also described the pathology of MS lesions.

Cruveilhier and Robert Carswell worked independently, with their illustrations appearing almost simultaneously. 

Cruveilhier's contribution to the field goes beyond his description of its pathology; he was the first to record the clinical history of a patient later found to have neuronal lesions. 

His notes recall that the woman: "had been ill six years without cause … she noticed that the left leg resisted her will to such a degree that she fell in the street"

Cruveilhier then went on to describe how over several years, the patient went onto to develop weakness of both legs and arms, spasms, difficulty in swallowing and visual disturbances. From this he diagnosed a lesion of the upper portion of the spinal cord.


"Again some beautiful illustrations in an era before photography. Cruveilhier was clearly a great artist."

Additional Reading: Jean Cruveilhier 

Other posts of relevance:

10 Jul 2011
History of MS (4): Robert Carswell (1793-1857). The first description of the pathology of MS was made by Robert Carswell, a pathologist of the mid 19th century. During a postmortem, Carswell found lesions in the spinal ...
01 Jul 2011
History of MS (3): Sir August d'Esté (1794-1848). After St. Lidwina the next historical description of MS appeared in 19th century; a personal account of the illness by Sir Augustus d'Esté, the illegitimate grandson of ...
26 Jun 2011
"I believe that studying or being aware of the history of MS is important; it may provide important insights into the origins of the disease and important clues to its cause." Possibly the earliest known description of a ...
23 Jun 2011
History of MS (1): Russell Brains Monologue. Murray T. Russell Brains Review of MS. Int MS J. 2011 May;17(2):50-3. In 1930 there were many conflicting views on the cause, incidence, precipitating factors, inheritance and ...