Jacques Jean Lhermitte and Lhermitte’s sign

Abstract

Jacques Jean Lhermitte, a forefather of modern clinical neurology, was a French neurologist conducting the majority of his research between 1908 and 1957. Although less well known than his contemporaries at the time, Lhermitte eventually was famously recognized for his eponymously named “Lhermitte’s sign.” Lhermitte’s contributions to the field of neurology spanned that of monographic clinical descriptions of syndromes to exquisitely detailed descriptions of neuropathology, finally delving into the realm of modern neuropsychiatry in his later years. Lhermitte laid the groundwork for the burgeoning field of neurology, developing the reputation of a renaissance physician by both his contemporaries and current neurologists. Here, we take an extensive look into the life and career of Lhermitte and the legacies that he left behind.