Thomas Lauth

Thomas Lauth was a French anatomist, born in Strasbourg on 19 August 1758 and died on 16 September 1826. He studied philosophy, mathematics, science and medicine at the University of Strasbourg and took his doctorate in 1781, then continued his medical training in Paris under Pierre-Joseph Desault and in London under John Hunter. After working as an obstetrical adjunct he became a full professor of anatomy and surgery at Strasbourg in 1785; when the Ecole de Sante was created in 1794 his post became the chair of anatomy and physiology, and in 1808 it was renamed the chair of normal and pathological anatomy. Two structures carry his name, Lauth's canal (the sinus venosus sclerae) and Lauth's ligament (the transverse ligament of the atlas). His writings include a history of anatomy published in 1815, and his son Ernest Alexandre Lauth was also an anatomist.