La relation mère-fille. Une histoire sans nom de Barbey d’Aurevilly

In 1967, some hematologists who were inspired by Barbey d’Aurevilly’s novel, “A story without a name”, described the syndrome of Lasthénie de Ferjol: recurrent anemia resulting from voluntarily provoked hemorrhages. We used the same novel as a basis for studying the mother-daughter relationship. Madame de Ferjol is widowed, and lives a reclusive life with her only daughter, Lasthénie, until such time as a capuchin priest enters their life during Lent. This unexpected encounter with sexuality (Lasthénie becomes pregnant) has a marked effect upon the young woman; she withdraws into total silence, and displays self-mutilating behavior (provoked bouts of anemia) which leads to her death and to that of her unborn child. In this tale, we see a paradigm of the mother-child relationship that has already been observed in anorexia nervosa. Mother and daughter are caught up in a narcissistic dyad fom which neither is able to extricate herself. The mother remains in a pathological state of mourning, and we put forward the hypothesis that this dead mother is affected by a melancholic process in which her hatred is projected onto her daughter. Finally, we have attempted to examine the connections between hysteria and anorexia nervosa, as in this story rivalry between mother and daughter also plays a role, and in which sexuality—therefore involving a third party—is unmentionable.     

La notion de structure en psychiatrie

The author explains the origins and the development of the notion of structure : Gestalttheory, structural linguistics, globalist neurology, social anthropology. He explains then the place and the functions of the notion of structure in contemporaneous psychiatry and in psychoanalysis.     

View of the canadian history of corneal transplantation

The author presents a brief chronological summary of early attempted corneal grafts over the last century culminating in the first successful Canadian keratoplasty by Dr. Jean Audet-Lapointe in Montreal on April 20, 1945. Medical journals of the day retrace the early experiences at various Canadian medical centres with this new innovative surgical procedure. Testimonials from newspaper clippings highlight the professional career of Dr. Jean Audet-Lapointe. The role and support of the CNIB in Montreal and Toronto in establishing the Canadian Eye Bank Service are also presented.     

Histoire du trachome au Canada

The author retraces the history of trachoma in Canada. The numerous articles in Canadian medical journals from the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19th century show the remarkable contribution of Canadian ophthalmologists. The clinical symptoms and signs followed by the etiology and the different modes of treatment are reviewed. The presence and prevention of trachoma in Canada, ranging from Montreal to Toronto, also in Halifax with the arrival of the transatlantic immigrants, as well as those reaching the western provinces of Canada are described. How the Canadian Department of Health belatedly introduced a prevention campaign only after a widespread dissemination of trachoma across the country is also examined.     

Les poèmes français de Michel Mitsakis : néologies d’aède ou néologismes de phrénopathe ?

The Greek writer Michel Mitsakis (1863-1916) rapidly became known for the dynamic nature of his work, but also for his most singular behavior. His text on a village idiot and on the psychiatric hospital in Corfu are major literary works. After a first hospitalization for “dementia praecox” in 1896, after that date he hardly ever wrote in his native language. On the contrary, between 1900 and 1911, he wrote several poems in French scribbled in the margins of a volume of the Iliad, or on pieces of paper which he left on journalists’ desks. These poems are of great literary importance. The implication of the psychopathological process in Michel Mitsakis’s work is also of major interest.     

Le Bulletin de l’Association française pour l’étude du cancer de 1909 à 1914 : le Bulletin du cancer dans sa première période

Three years after its founding in 1909, the Association française pour l'étude du cancer is a major scientific society developing transdisciplinary debates particularly on innovative therapeutics in cancer, such as the developing use of radium. The Association at that time assembles together all the French medical elite. Reading the Bulletin offers a clear view of the brilliant monthly debates. First World War stopped the life of the Association for four years. After this break, the set up of dedicated centers for cancer treatment was responsible for a major turn in the Association's life.     

L’Union nationale hospitalière privée de cancérologie

In the French health system, social security is the same for both public and private hospitals regardless of their status. In terms of number of patients screened, diagnosed, or treated, independant medicine is the most important sector in the French oncology. The multitude of organizations representing private hospitals or independant oncologists, physicians, radiologists or pathologists have a common organization, the National Union for Private Hospital Oncology (UNHPC). It bases its action on two founding postulates to ensure the quality of the oncology practice : the medical and managerial cultures are complementary and should be articulated ; the quality of organizations is as important as professional competence.     

Jeunes enfants en déficit langagier : apport des méthodes projectives à la compréhension de leur évolution comportementale

Objective

To help document underlying mechanisms that could explain the marked comorbidity between emotional and behavioural problems and language deficits, the present study looked at the contribution of projective measures to a better understanding of young language-disordered children's inner lives.