The sign of Babinski.

Abstract

Dr Joseph Babinski. Illustration by Venita Jay, MD, FRCPC. F every student of medicine, the name Babinski immediately invokes the image of an upgoing toe. But the contributions of Joseph Francois Felix Babinski to neurology and neurosurgery were indeed more far-reaching—his legacy marked an exemplary chapter in Parisian medicine. Babinski was Jean Martin Charcot’s favorite pupil. While the turbulent political scene of the mid-19th century did not affect Charcot, who was busy establishing the world’s leading center of neurology in Paris, Babinski’s parents were violently uprooted from their native Poland when an uprising against the Russian domination failed. Babinski’s parents eventually settled in Paris, where they had 2 sons, Henri and Joseph. The brothers would remain inseparable to the end. Joseph Babinski (1857–1932) was brought up in modest circumstances in Paris. He studied medicine and graduated from the University of Paris in 1885. Prior to graduation, he was appointed an intern at the Hopitaux de Paris in 1879. Working under the famous neurologist Edme Vulpian aroused Babinski’s interest in neurology. He served as chef de clinique to Charcot at the Salpetriere. Babinski obtained his doctorate with a meticulous thesis on the topography of lesions and their correlation with symptomatology in multiple sclerosis. When Babinski appeared for the highly competitive examination of Professeur agrege, he was not deemed successful due to an unfortunate and regrettable estrangement between Charles Bouchard, who conducted the examinations, and Charcot. Bouchard passed one of his own students and eliminated Babinski, who was Charcot’s pupil. Thus Babinski, who was viewed by many as Charcot’s successor, could not take up an academic appointment at the university. Instead, he served as head of the neurological clinic of the Pitie hospital in Paris from 1890 to 1927. In one sense, being spared the burden of academia and hours of systematic teaching allowed Babinski to become one of Paris’ exemplary clinicians who could devote time to his 2 passions: clinical neurology and research. Before he devoted his life to neurology, Babinski excelled in general medicine. He made several noteworthy contributions in medicine, including work on typhoid fe-