Alexis Littre

Alexis Littré (July 21, 1658 - February 3, 1726) was a French anatomist. He studied medicine in Montpellier and Paris. In 1691 he received his doctorate from the University of Paris. In 1699 he became a member of the Académie des Sciences.

In Paris, Littré taught anatomy and is known for his numerous medical publications. He was the first physician to give a description of a hernial protusion of an intestinal diverticulum (Meckel's diverticulum). This condition is now referred to as Littré's hernia. He also described the mucous urethral glands of the male urethra. These structures were to become known as Littré's glands, and their inflammation is sometimes called littreitis.

In his 1710 treatise Diverse observations anatomiques, Littré was the first physician to suggest the possibility of performing a lumbar colostomy for an obstruction of the colon.