Pierre-Joseph Desault facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pierre-Joseph Desault
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| Born | 6 February 1738 Vouhenans, France
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| Died | 1 June 1795 (aged 57) |
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| Fields | Anatomy Surgery |
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Pierre-Joseph Desault was an important French doctor. He was an expert in anatomy, which is the study of the body's structure. He was also a skilled surgeon, performing operations. He lived from 1738 to 1795.
Contents
A Life in Medicine
Pierre-Joseph Desault was born in Vouhenans, a small village in France. His family wanted him to become a priest. But Pierre-Joseph was much more interested in medicine.
Early Training
He started learning about medicine from a local barber-surgeon in his village. Later, he became an apprentice at a military hospital in Belfort. There, he learned a lot about anatomy and how to perform surgery on soldiers.
Moving to Paris
Around the age of 20, Desault moved to Paris. In 1766, he opened his own school for anatomy. His school quickly became very popular. This made some of the older, more established teachers jealous. They tried to stop his lectures, but he continued.
In 1776, he became a member of the Corps of Surgeons. This was a group of official surgeons. In 1782, he was made the chief surgeon at the Hospital of Charity.
Leading Surgeon and Teacher
In 1784, Desault moved to the Hôtel-Dieu, a famous hospital. He helped create new ways to teach surgery there. In just a few years, he was known as one of the best surgeons in France.
His special school for surgery at the Hôtel-Dieu attracted many students. They came from all over France and even from other countries. Often, about 100 students would attend his lectures. One of his students, Xavier Bichat, said it was the best surgical school in Europe.
Desault made many improvements to how surgery was done. He also helped design better surgical tools. In 1791, he started a medical journal called Journal de chirurgerie. His students helped edit it. The journal shared interesting cases from his school and his thoughts on them.
Difficult Times and Legacy
During the French Revolution, Desault faced some challenges. He was wrongly accused of something and arrested in 1793 while giving a lecture. He was taken to prison. However, he was released after only three days and allowed to go back to his work.
Desault died suddenly on June 1, 1795. There were rumors that he had been poisoned. But his student, Bichat, performed an autopsy. The autopsy showed that he had not been poisoned. After his death, the government gave his wife a pension to support her.
His Published Works
Pierre-Joseph Desault wrote several important books.
- With François Chopart, he published Traité des maladies chirurgicales (1779). This book was about surgical diseases.
- After Desault's death, his student Xavier Bichat collected his teachings. He published them in a book called OEuvres chirurgicales de Desault (1798-1799). This book helped share Desault's surgical ideas with more people.
