Brown-Séquard, Charles Édouard

Brown-Séquard, Charles Édouard (broun-sākär`, –sākwär`), 1817–94, physiologist, b. Mauritius, of French and American parents. He taught at Harvard (1864–68), practiced medicine in New York City (1873–78), and succeeded (1878) Claude Bernard at the Collège de France. He was known for his research on the functions of the sympathetic nervous system and the spinal cord; he also studied the physiological effects of the injection of genital gland extracts and of the application of heat to the cortex. His most important work was on internal secretions. He is considered a founder of endocrinology, especially organotherapy.