Joseph Rouanet
Joseph Rouanet (1797-1865) was a French physician.
Rouanet was best known for his pioneering work on the mechanism of heart sounds. In 1832, in his doctoral thesis Analyse des bruits du cœur, he was the first to assert that the first and second heart sounds (S1 and S2) result from the closure of the atrioventricular and semilunar valves, respectively. This insight prefigured and influenced the understanding of cardiac auscultation that would become central to 19th-century clinical diagnostics.
Rouanet’s original thesis, submitted to the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, was rooted in empirical observation and anatomical experimentation. He proposed that the first heart sound corresponded to the closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves at the onset of systole, while the second sound arose from the closure of the aortic and pulmonary valves at the end of systole. This interpretation marked a significant departure from previous theories and laid the foundation for subsequent clinical applications of cardiac auscultation.
Although his contributions were underappreciated in Parisian circles at the time, Rouanet’s work gained retrospective recognition, particularly through the writings of Jean-Charles Faget (1818–1884), his colleague in New Orleans. Faget regarded Rouanet’s elucidation of the heart sounds as comparable in importance to the discoveries of Haller and Harvey. Rouanet’s findings would later be amplified by Pierre-Charles-Alexandre Louis (1787–1872), Jean-Baptiste Bouillaud (1796–1881), and other clinicians who systematized physical diagnosis.
In addition to his theoretical contributions, Rouanet was a skilled diagnostician and surgeon. After emigrating to New Orleans in 1847, he built a reputation for clinical precision, particularly in cases of cardiac pathology. He became a frequent consultant in difficult cases and contributed to regional medical journals, solidifying his legacy in both French and American medical circles.
Biographical Timeline
- 1797 – Born December 4 in Brassac, Saint-Pons (Hérault), France.
- 1799 – Family moved to farm Chapetis estate; supported by Mlle. Therese Tabarie who promoted his early education.
- c.1815–1820 – Entered seminary in Paris (possibly Saint-Sulpice); later abandoned clerical path.
- 1824 – Taught at a boarding school in Choisy-le-Roi; undertook walking tour of Normandy.
- 1826 – Employed as secretary to the Princess of Talmont; later served as her personal physician.
- 1828–1832 – Studied medicine in Paris; earned income through tutoring; completed medical thesis.
- 1829 – Obtained Bachelor of Letters degree on June 15.
- 1832 – Graduated with doctorate in medicine; published thesis “Analyse des bruits du cœur” proposing that heart sounds result from valve closures.
- 1832–1846 – Practised medicine in Paris; continued cardiovascular research but struggled to build a practice.
- 1844 – Published second memoir on heart sounds.
- 1847 – Emigrated to New Orleans, USA, due to financial losses in stock market; licensed to practise in Louisiana on October 30.
- 1848 – Gained local acclaim after accurately diagnosing Dr. C. A. Luxenberg; praised by Dr. Thomas in a yellow fever treatise for therapeutic innovation with strychnine.
- 1852 – Published review of Walshe’s “Practical Treatise on the Diseases of the Lungs and Heart”.
- 1850s–1860s – Regular contributor to Union médicale de la Louisiane and New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal; renowned for diagnostic skill in cardiac disease; lived at 124 St. Louis Street, New Orleans.
- 1865 – Died July 20 at Hotel Dieu, New Orleans; funeral held July 27 at St. Louis Cathedral.
Key Medical Contributions
The heart sounds hypothesis (1832)
In his doctoral thesis Analyse des bruits du cœur, Rouanet was the first to clearly link the primary heart sounds to valvular closure. He proposed that the first heart sound (S1) resulted from the closure of the atrioventricular valves (mitral and tricuspid), and the second (S2) from the closure of the semilunar valves (aortic and pulmonary).
This mechanistic explanation was groundbreaking at the time and predated the widespread clinical adoption of auscultation. Rouanet’s theory, overlooked in Parisian academic circles, was later validated and popularised through the clinical work of Bouillaud and others. Jean-Charles Faget, his colleague in New Orleans, considered Rouanet’s contribution a milestone comparable to those of Haller and Harvey.
Rouanet was the first person to state that the first and second heart sounds (S1 and S2) were as a result of the heart valves closing. He wrote in his 1832 MD thesis that first heart sound occurred when the atrioventricular (mitral and tricuspid) valves closed, and the second occurred when the semilunar (aortic and pulmonic) valves closed.
Controversies
Goose heart prank and duel
Rouanet’s renown in auscultation made him a frequent consultant in cardiac cases—but also a target of professional mischief. On one occasion in New Orleans, a younger colleague presented him with an anatomical specimen, claiming it was the malformed heart of an infant. Rouanet examined it with intense curiosity, unaware it was in fact the heart of a goose.
The prank was later immortalised in a satirical poem, Le médecin et l’oie, composed and circulated by his rival Dr Charles-Chauvin-Boisclair Deléry (1815–1880). The poem was laced with biting satire and classical references, casting Rouanet in the role of a pompous fool deceived by a goose’s heart—mistaking it for that of a child. It even invokes Molière’s Thomas Diafoirus as a caricature of pompous, jargon-laden medicine.
Offended by the ridicule, Rouanet challenged Deléry to a duel. Both were wounded in the exchange before seconds intervened. Despite this, Rouanet reportedly insisted on resuming the duel, highlighting both his pride and his intense commitment to professional dignity.
Contested Identity
A persistent historical confusion has surrounded the identity of the physician who elucidated the mechanism of the heart sounds. In 1921, Edmond Souchon published a tribute attributing the discovery to a “Jean Pierre Rouanet” (1787–1849), whom he claimed to have located buried in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Souchon’s account merged biographical details from the actual discoverer—Joseph Rouanet (1797–1865)—with those of a local physician unrelated to the Paris-trained cardiologist. Subsequent scholarship, notably by McKusick (1958) and Wright & McIntyre (2020), has clarified that the correct name is Joseph Rouanet, who died in New Orleans in 1865. The erroneous identification of “Jean Pierre” has nonetheless propagated through secondary literature and highlights the vulnerability of historical record when reliant on anecdotal sources.
Major Publications
- Rouanet J. Nouvelle analyse des bruits du coeur : extrait d’un rapport lu à la société de médecine de Paris, sur le “Manuel de diagnostic” de Andry, Félix-Cyprien (1808-1869), 1820
- Rouanet J. Analyse des bruits du cœur; thèse présentée et soutenue à la Faculté de Médecine de Paris, le 31 août 1832
- Rouanet J. Analyse des bruits du coeur. Paris thesis, 1832 (No. 252). [Google eBook]
- Rouanet J. Nouvelle analyse des bruits du coeur. 1844
- Rouanet J. Revue médicale française et étrangère. 1844 Tome III
- Rouanet J. Critical Review of ‘A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of the Lungs and Heart, Including the Principles of Physical Diagnosis‘, by Prof. W. H. Walshe, of London. New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. 1851-52;8: 521-529, 649-661, 800-809
References
Biography
- Caffé. Necrologie: Joseph Rouanet. Journal des connaissances médicales pratiques. 1866;33:112
- Faget J-C. Notice scientifique sur Rouanet, de Saint-Pons (Hérault). L’union médicale 1866; 29: 321-327, 337-346, 385-395.
- Souchon E. A tribute to Dr. Pierre Rouanet, the discoverer of the cause of the heart sounds, at one time a practitioner in New Orleans. New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. 1921-22;74:314-317
Eponymous terms
- McKusick VA. Rouanet of Paris and New Orleans; experiments on the valvular origin of the heart sounds 125 years ago. Bull Hist Med. 1958 Mar-Apr;32(2):137-51. [JSTOR]
- Wright JR, McIntyre L. The fable of “The Doctor and the Goose,” by Charles Chauvin Boisclair Deléry, D.M.P. J Med Biogr. 2021 Nov;29(4):209-217.
Eponym
the person behind the name
