Magendie, François (1783–1855)

French physician, a pioneer of modern experimental pharmacology. He helped to introduce into medicine the range of plant-derived compounds known as alkaloids as well as strychnine, morphine and codeine, and quinine. With Jean Pierre Flourens, he introduced the idea that the nervous system coordinates the functions of different parts of the body.

Pharmacological research Using extensive vivisection and a certain amount of self-experimentation, Magendie conducted trials on plant poisons, deploying animals to track precise physiological effects. He demonstrated that the stomach's role in vomiting is essentially passive, and analysed emetics. He investigated the role of proteins in human diet; he was interested in olfaction; and he studied the white blood cells.

Magendie also had a great influence on the search for the active principles of drugs. He published Formulary for the preparation and use of several new drugs, such as nux vomica, morphine, prussic acid, strychnine, veratrine, the cinchona alkaloids, emetine, iodine 1821, a pocket formulatory for practising physicians. He was the first to use alkaloids in the treatment of disease, and his book deals almost entirely with the clinical use of the new remedies.

Life Magendie was born in Bordeaux and studied at Paris, where he became physician to the Hôtel Dieu. Elected a member of the Académie des Sciences 1821, he became its president 1837. In 1831, he was appointed professor of anatomy at the Collège de France.

Anatomical discoveries Magendie worked protractedly on the nerves of the spine and the skull and showed that there are two roots to the spinal canal: the anterior root is motor, while the posterior root is sensory. A canal leading from the fourth ventricle (cavity) of the brain is now known as the ‘foramen of Magendie’. He also confirmed the work of Flourens, demonstrating that if the cerebellum is removed from a mammal, physical equilibrium is almost entirely abolished resulting in lack of coordination.