Ernest Juvara (1870-1933) - Founder of the Surgical Anatomy School of Iaşi

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Ernest Juvara (1870-1933) - Founder of the Surgical Anatomy School of Iaşi

E. Târcoveanu, A. Vasilescu
History of medicine, no. 1, 2015
A figure that cannot be absent from the pantheon of Romaniansurgery is that of Professor Ernest Juvara, great anatomist,talented surgeon, accomplished artist and maestro beyondcompare, school founder. He was born on the 14th of May 1870 inthe city of Bârlad, the son of a landlord, who ensured for him aspecial education; he was enrolled in the primary school inBucharest; he graduate from highschool at Sf. Sava College inBucharest, and obtains his baccalaureate degree in letters andscience in 1888. He leaves for Paris the same year and applies forMedical School. There he was fascinated by the anatomy lessonsof Farabeuf. Practical seminars were held by professor Paul Poirier.In 1890 he succeeded in passing his exam as extern of Parisianhospitals. For 3 years, between 1890 and 1893, he rotated betweenthe services of professors Duplay, Richard, Rochard şi Delbet.Anatomy was his greatest passion. He was director of theanatomy laboratory of Professor Paul Poirier, where he met ThomaIonescu. In 1892, Ernest Juvara together with H. Friteaupublished "Quinze lecons d'anatomie pratique", an illustratedwork with 84 original drawings and schemes, and together with F.Legueu, urology professor in Paris, the book "Des aponevroses dela paume de la main". In 1894, Poirier elaborated a vast treatiseon human anatomy, in which Thoma Ionescu was assigned thechapter on the digestive tube and Juvara the overview andperformance of the necessary sketches for this extensive work,drawing almost 100 mural boards. In 1895, Juvara defended hisPhD thesis in medicine and surgery entitled Anatomie de larégion pterigo-maxillaire, which received the qualifier „extrémementbien” from the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (1). In Paris, hebecomes close friends with Theodor Pallady, and attends thepainting workshops of Gustave Moreau and Jean Aman, where heperfects his skills in drawing, graphical perspective and colourtechniques. He also meets Pierre Puvis de Chavannes andbecomes acquainted with Ştefan Luchian, who will then onremain a faithful friend (1).In 1895, upon his return to our country, he becomes anassistant lecturer at the Surgical Clinic of Colåea Hospital inBucharest, and chief of the Topographical Anatomy andExperimental Surgery Institute. He dedicates his time to theorganization of the institute and the founding of its anatomymuseum, as well as of the experimental surgery department, whichincluded student teaching. In 1897, he publishes „Lecåiuni deanatomie practicã” (Practical Anatomy Lessons), in which weencounter 103 original drawings. In 1898 the paper Anatomiatopograficã a splinei hipertrofiate (Topographic Anatomy of theHypertrophic Spleen) is published, in which, in order for thedrawings to be multiplied as exactly as possible, they were firstphotographed by Juvara and then drawn. Ernest Juvara can thus beconsidered a predecessor of medical photography in our country. In1899 „Leitfaden fur die Chirurghische Anatomie”, with 183sketches in the text (Berlin, Verlag von August Hirschwald) isreleased, a paper achieving great success, being appreciated even byprofessor Waldeyer (1).In parallel to his anatomy works, he also published during thisperiod papers on therapeutic and clinical surgery, experimentalsurgery, operative medicine, even describing a procedure nowclassic in the treatment of rectal prolapse treatment, and developsthe necessary equipment for the introduction of asepsia. On the1st of March 1897, at the initiative of Thoma Ionescu, theJournal of Surgery is published, and Ernest Juvara is named editorialsecretary. On the 1st of Frebruary, also at the initiative ofThoma Ionescu, the Romanian Society of Surgery is born.Among the 30 founding members, the 19th one is Ernest Juvara,who also becomes secretary general of the society.