Charles Émile François-Franck

Life & Legacy

Charles-Émile François-Franck (7 May 1849, Paris – 8 September 1921, Paris) was a French physiologist.
From 1871 he served as a hospital intern in Bordeaux, later returning to Paris, where he worked as an assistant to Étienne-Jules Marey in the laboratory of pathophysiology at the Collège de France. In 1885 he was named director of the laboratory, and in 1890, attained the title of professor. Among his assistants at the Collège de France was neuropathologist Gustave Roussy. In 1887 he was elected as a member of the Académie Nationale de Médecine.
His research included studies of vasomotor regulation, pulmonary blood flow and investigations involving the cerebral localization of function. He was a pioneer of sympathectomy (interruption of the sympathetic nervous system for relieving pain) and remembered for his usage of cinematography to accurately record body movements.