Clot-Bey: founder of western medical practice in Egypt.

Thomas Wakely provided the only description in English about AntoineBarthelemy Clot, better known as Clot-Bey, in a Medical Portrait in Lancet in 1833 (1). In his introduction he stated: "If then we are to appreciate the character of ClotBey, either by the vastness, the value, or the peculiarity of his labours, we must at once place him in the first rank of the most eminent practioners of medicine of the existing era." This accolade was especially directed toward his founding an entire system of Western medical practice in Egypt over a 7-yr period. During this time he had been able to establish a military medicine service and public health service as well as a medical school at Abou-zabel which had trained over 150 physicians including a native faculty. Egypt at the time was part of the crumbling Ottoman Empire. However, Napoleon Bonaparte's incursion had been the basis for a continuing French influence. In 1798 Napoleon's expedition to Egypt embarked from Toulon with the objective of conquering Egypt, ousting the British from India, and, on the return trip, crushing the power of the Sultan. From a military point of view the foray was a disaster. However, the expedition directly affected the lives of two obscure individuals, one of whom, Mohammed Ali, was to found the last Egyptian dynasty, and the other, Antoine Clot, was to become a world-renowned physician. When Napoleon's intentions to invade Egypt became known, Turkey mobilized troops from all over its sprawling empire to fight the invaders. Among those mobilized was a Macedonian, Mohammed Ali, who became a colonel in these defending forces (2, 3). Egypt at this time was under the harsh rule of the Mamelukes, mercenary troops, who had been imported by the Arabs in the Tenth Century as slave warriors. From this humble beginning, they gradually grew in power and eventually founded a Mameluke dynasty under the aegis of the Stitan with each chieftain having the title of Bey. Although Napoleon's expedition to Egypt did not accomplish his strategic military objectives, he did break the power of the Mamelukes. The downfall of the Mamelukes set the stage for Mohammed Ali to become Viceroy and Pasha of Egypt and founder of a dynasty that ended ingloriously with King Farouk in 1952. Monsieur Clot, a sergeant major in Napoleon's army, had left his wife and 5-yrold son, Antoine, to join the expedition to Egypt at Toulon. However, illness forced him to abandon the expedition and return to his home in Grenoble where the Clots led a very modest existence (4, 5). Young Antoine apparently did not go to primary school but was taught at home by his father and his aunt, a nun who had been forced to leave the convent during the French Revolution. His father's health finally forced the family to move from the harsh winters of Grenoble to the milder climate of Brignoles when Antoine was 15. Monsieur Clot