Augusta Marie Déjerine-Klumpke: much more than just Déjerine's wife

Abstract

Augusta Marie Déjerine-Klumpke (1859-1927) was a formidable neurologist, neuroanatomist and researcher in France. One of the first women to be accepted for medical internship, externship and research in Paris, Augusta made her name studying and teaching anatomy, histology and dissection, attending clinical activities in neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics and neurologic trauma, performing necropsies, and writing scientific papers and book chapters. Her main research in neurology awarded her an eponym for the avulsion of the lowest root of the brachial plexus (Klumpke's palsy). Married to her professor, the remarkable Dr. Joseph Jules Déjerine, Augusta continued her career and became the first female president of the French Society of Neurology.

The eponymous history of the ulnar nerve physical examination

“…Augusta Déjerine-Klumpke (15 October 1859–5 November 1927) was an American-born French neurologist (Balakrishnan, 2018; Nogueira et al., 2018). Born in San Francisco, she moved to Switzerland for treatment of her eldest sibling’s osteomyelitis (Berhoune et al., 2014).…”

“…She began her medical studies at the University of Paris in 1877, to much scorn, as at that time female medical students had to enter lectures via different doors and sit in different sections, and even her dean, Alfred Vulpian, stated ‘… the role of a woman is to create a home and to devote herself to her husband and her children’. Despite these obstacles, she persevered and became ‘stagiaire’, or intern at the Hopital de la Charité in Paris in 1880, where she met her future husband, Joseph Jules Déjerine, who was chief resident at the time (Figure 5) (Nogueira et al., 2018). After a hard-fought campaign alongside an English woman, Blanche Edwards, to open the Paris externship competition to women, they became the first women Externes des Hotel-Dieu in Paris in 1882 (Hakulinen, 2001).…”

The expulsion of Augusta Dejerine-Klumpke from the Salpêtrière Hospital: Pierre Marie's revenge

“…She also contributed to Dejerine's famous publication, entitled "Sémiologie des affections du système nerveaux." [6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14] The couple also described several diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, such as aphasia, alexia, agraphia, the Klumpke plexopathy (involvement of the C8-T1 roots of the brachial plexus), cases of meningoradiculitis, and inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. [6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14] Despite being recognized by her husband as a great ally in the production of his works, as a female doctor in the 19 th century and a foreigner, many colleagues did not look on her kindly.…”

“…Augusta Marie Klumpke, born in San Francisco, USA, with parents who emigrated from Germany, settled in Paris, where she was one of the first women to graduate in medicine and then intern at Vulpian's neurology service, at the Bicêtre hospital. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 There, she met Jules Joseph Dejerine (1849–1917), whom she married in 1888, and with whom she began an intense scientific production in the areas of neuroanatomy and neurology. She became known internationally as Augusta Dejerine-Klumpke ( Figure 1 ).…”

“…She also contributed to Dejerine's famous publication, entitled “Sémiologie des affections du système nerveaux.” 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 The couple also described several diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, such as aphasia, alexia, agraphia, the Klumpke plexopathy (involvement of the C8–T1 roots of the brachial plexus), cases of meningoradiculitis, and inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14…”