Joseph-Pierre Éléonord Pétrequin (1809-1876), the majestic French surgeon who introduced the concept of surgical anatomy

Abstract

Pétrequin was a French surgeon born in the town of Villeurbanne, near the city of Lyon. He lived in an era when surgery was evolving towards a more complex and modern specialty. His magnificent career was shared between surgical pathology and history of surgery. His two most significant works were “Traité d’anatomie médico-chirurgicale et topographique” (An Assay of Medical and Surgical Anatomy and Topography) and “La chirurgie d’Hippocrate” (The Surgery of Hippocrates). Having realized the need for surgery to be combined with anatomy, he was the scholar who introduced the concept of surgical anatomy. His innovations, travels and publications won him a series of nominations and a place among th greatest European surgeons and philosophers of all times.

Keywords

• Joseph-Pierre Éléonord Pétrequin
• French surgery
• surgical pathology
• surgical anatomy
• history of surgery
• Lyon