Le rôle des manuels dans la disciplinarisation de la toxicologie en France au xixe siècle

Abstract

Toxicology, the science of poisons, is a multidisciplinary field whose teaching is divided up between medicine, pharmacy and chemistry. This article uses toxicology textbooks to study disciplinary and editorial issues. The first part shows, through a serial and comparative approach, how the publication of toxicology textbooks promoted and legitimated the institutionalisation of a discipline with porous borders. The second part presents the editorial history of the Manuel complet de médecine légale [Complete Textbook of Legal Medicine] (10 eds; 1821-1880) by Briand & Chaudé and the disciplinary consequences of the insertion of a Traité élémentaire de chimie légale [Elementary Treatise on Legal Chemistry] written by pharmacist-chemists.