Pierre Marie: Gifted Intellect,Poor Timing and Unchecked Emotionality

Pierre Marie was a prominent member of the French neurological world of the early twentieth century. Having been trained by the celebrated physician, J-M Charcot, Marie remained influenced by his teacher throughout his career. Because of this influence, his career can be logically divided into three phases: first, the early years under the direct mentorship of Charcot (1878-1893); secondly, the aftermath of Charcot’s death when Marie left his teacher’s institution, the Salpêtrière hospital and established himself at the Bicêtre hospital in southern Paris (1893-1918); and finally, Marie’s return to the Salpêtrière to assume the original Charcot chaired professorship, albeit as an aged man (1918-1925). This essay examines Marie’s career with an emphasis on documentation of the combined attributes of a gifted intellect as well as a heated emotionality. In the context of his time, these elements prompted Marie to enter into controversies and medico-political battles that advanced neurological knowledge, but likely disadvantaged him in his career successes.     

Legalized trauma

In the past, criminals were executed by a variety of means, including beheading or hanging, and both these methods may leave signs on the skeleton. It is not difficult to recognize individuals who have been beheaded because one or other of the cervical vertebrae will show evidence of the fatal blow, and there may also be cut marks on the base of the skull or the back of the mandible. Death from hanging, however, often leaves no marks on the skeleton, especially when carried out with a running noose and no drop. With a drop, dislocation of the sutures at the base of the skull may be noted and the classic ‘hangman's fracture’, which is a fracture dislocation of the second cervical vertebra, may be present. When there is no evidence of trauma, death from hanging may have to be inferred in skeletons which are found with the hands tied or with other signs that are discussed here.     

Geological controls on regional transmissivity anisotropy

A variety of data indicate that the Carbonate aquifer in southern Manitoba is a heterogeneous and anisotropic aquifer wherein groundwater flow follows preferred flow path networks. Specific capacity tests show that aquifer transmissivity can vary by up to four orders of magnitude within 1 km. Geostatistical analysis reveals a strong anisotropy in the transmissivity field, with better spatial continuity in NE–SW and NW–SE directions, coincident with the dominant orientations of fractures observed in bedrock exposures. However, discrepancies between the orientation of highest fracture density and best transmissivity continuity suggest that either additional geological factors control the preferred flow network or there is a biased representation of the fracture pattern because all direct fracture observations came from the northern part of the study area. In an effort to investigate whether the geographically biased fracture data set represents the fracture pattern for the whole region, Landsat images and digital elevation maps were processed to extract linear features that may indicate subsurface fracture zones in areas where bedrock is covered by glacial sediments. The results suggest a consistent fracture pattern throughout the study area, indicating that the two observed fracture groups might have gone through different processes in terms of permeability development. Alteration by mineral cementation and dissolution along fracture surfaces may have preferentially improved the fracture permeability in one orientation, while reducing it in the other. The in situ stress field is also believed to play a major role in the preferred regional flow network. This paper discusses the evidence for the preferred flow path network and possible geological factors controlling aquifer anisotropy in this region.     

Rib fractures in the archaeological record: a useful source of sociocultural information?

Investigation of palaeopathological fractures has been shown to provide important information on past societies. However, despite the fact that rib fractures are amongst the most commonly recorded types of fractures in archaeological bone, little attention has been paid to them. Although there will be sites with badly preserved ribs, making their study difficult, this will not always be the case. Recent clinical investigations have highlighted the potential significance of rib fractures with regard to morbidity and mortality, and their importance in relation to health is now appreciated. This study investigates rib fractures in 352 adults from St. Martin's churchyard, Birmingham, England. The crude prevalence of rib fractures was found to be 15.6% and the true prevalence rate 2.3%. The majority of the fractures occurred in males, and those buried in vaults were less likely to have a fracture than individuals from earth‐cut graves. In 11 individuals the fractures were healing at the time of death, and in these cases death was probably related to one of the complications that are frequently linked to fractured ribs. Certain types of accidents may have been linked to these more serious fractures, as 70% occurred in the same anatomical area. Other rib fractures were associated with pathological conditions, such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis. Overall, the study of the rib fractures in this collection provided valuable information that aided interpretation of the lifeways of individuals investigated. It is argued that where preservation permits, studies of fractures in archaeological bone should include ribs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.