Jean Casimir Félix Guyon

Who was Jean Casimir Félix Guyon?

Jean Casimir Félix Guyon was a French surgeon and urologist born in Saint-Denis, Ile-Bourbon.

He studied medicine in Paris, receiving his doctorate in 1858. He was appointed médecin des hôpitaux in 1864, and was later a professor of surgical pathology and genitourinary surgery at the University of Paris. In 1878 he became a member of the Académie de Médecine. At Hôpital Necker he held clinics that were attended by students worldwide

In 1907, he along with urologists from Europe, the United States and South America established the Association Internationale d'Urologie. In 1979 he was commemorated on a postage stamp, issued by France on the occasion of the 18th Congress of the Association Internationale d'Urologie, held in Paris. The Hôpital Félix Guyon, located in Saint-Denis, Réunion, is named in his honour.

Although he was primarily known for work with genitourinary anatomy, Guyon is credited with the discovery of the ulnar canal at the wrist. This canal channels blood vessels and the ulnar nerve from the forearm to the hand, and is now known as Guyon's canal. Ulnar nerve compression at this location is sometimes referred to as "Guyon's tunnel syndrome".