[One hundred years ago --Jules Fontan and the wounded heart].
On the event of the centennial of the first wound of the left ventricule cured by suture, the author recalls the conditions under which Jules Fontan, surgeon of the Navy, obtained this memorable success. He recalls the first observation and analysed the obstacles which this surgeon had to overcome to finally open the era of surgical treatment of heart wounds caused by knife fights. A comparative study of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches implemented one hundred years later highlights the advances made in the area of heart wound surgery and also in planned heart surgery for which the 20th century will remain of all achievements.