Edouard Laguesse

Gustave-Edouard Laguesse (1861-1927) was a French pathologist and histologist born in Dijon. In 1885 he received his medical doctorate in Paris and subsequently practiced medicine in Lille.

Laguesse is remembered for his patho-histological work with the pancreas. In 1893 he named the small cellular clusters of the pancreas the "Islets of Langerhans", in honor of their discoverer Paul Langerhans (1847-1888). At the time of their discovery, Langerhans attached no importance to these structures. Laguesse postulated that the Islets of Langerhans produced secretions that played a regulatory role in digestion. Laguesse's research was considered a major step on the path of discovery of a new hormone in the early days of endocrinology.