https://doi.org/10.1177/1553350619835346 Surgical Innovation 1–4 © The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1553350619835346 journals.sagepub.com/home/sri History of Innovation Introduction The purpose of this study is to summarize the life and work of the French anatomist and surgeon Antoine Ferrein (1693-1769). Ferrein (Figure 1) was an eminent anatomist and physiologist of the 18th century who was a professor at the Collège Royal in Paris, and in 1742, he became a member of the Académie des sciences. He men- tored and taught Antoine Petit who succeeded him as the Professor of Anatomy in Paris. In this historic review, we summarize his life, work achievements, and contribution to anatomy and physiology of his era. Ferrein’s Life and Work Antoine Ferrein was born in Garonne, France, on October 25, 1693, and he died of a stroke in Paris on February 28, 1769. He was a native of Frespech. He began studying at the Jesuits College of Agen. He then pursued higher studies at Cahors, in 1713, where he studied law, medi- cine, and theology simultaneously, without abandoning mathematics and the natural sciences. After reading a work by Borelli, in which physiological propositions were purportedly derived from anatomical information by means of mathematical procedures, Ferrein decided to devote himself entirely to medical and anatomic research. He followed the idea of an anatomy project that would seek out in the morphology and the construction of the body the explanation of most physiological and pathological phenomena. 1,2 In 1714, Ferrein left Cahors to go to Montpellier, where he studied medicine under Raymond Vieussens and Antoine Deidier. In 1716, he received his bachelor’s degree, but family obligations forced him to interrupt his studies and move to Marseilles, where he gave private classes in anatomy, physiology, and surgery. He later returned to Montpellier, and on September 27, 1728, he received the title of Doctor of Medicine. He then taught in the Montpellier Faculty of Medicine as suppléant to Astruc. After his applications for the chairs of medicine 835346SRI XX X 10.1177/1553350619835346Surgical InnovationMarkatos et al research-article 2019 1 University of Crete, Crete, Greece 2 University of Athens, Athens, Greece 3 Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece Corresponding Author: Konstantinos Markatos, Faculty of Medicine, School of Sciences, University of Crete, PO Box 2208, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Email: gerkremer@yahoo.gr Antoine Ferrein (1693-1769)—His Life and Contribution to Anatomy and Physiology: The Description of the Vocal Chords and Their Function Konstantinos Markatos, MD, PhD 1 , Marianna Karamanou, MD, PhD 1 , Konstantinos Tsekouras, MD 2 , Christos Damaskos, MD, PhD 2 , Nikolaos Garmpis, MD 2 , and Georgios Androutsos, MD, PhD 3 Abstract The purpose of this study is to summarize the life and work of the French anatomist and surgeon Antoine Ferrein (1693-1769). Ferrein made an impact in the history of anatomy and physiology through his work and especially with the description of phonation, renal anatomy, and liver and biliary structure. He also made an impact on ophthalmology with the description of the eyelid and its diseases. After a thorough review of the literature, we present in this review his life and his main discoveries with special emphasis on the anatomic description of the vocal chords resembling the chords of a violin tempered by the air exhaled from the lungs and how the physiology of phonation and the surgery of the larynx were revolutionized after that. Keywords Antoine Ferrein, history of anatomy, vocal chords, renal anatomy, medical biography