Publisher's Synopsis
Desault (1738-1795) was a French anatomist and surgeon. Originally destined for the church, his own inclination was towards the study of medicine and after acquiring some knowledge of anatomy and surgery in the military hospital of Belfort he moved to Paris aged around twenty where in 1766 he opened a school of anatomy, the success of which excited the jealousy of established professors who tried to make him give up his lectures. In 1776 he was admitted as a member of the Corps of Surgeons and in 1782 was made Surgeon Major to the Hospital of Charity. In 1784 he moved to the Hotel-Dieu, the oldest hospital in Paris, to participate in experiments in surgical education and was soon recognised as one of France's leading surgeons, with his clinical school attracting large numbers of students from both France and abroad. He introduced many improvements to the practice of surgery and to the construction of surgical instruments. This English translation was published in America in 1805 and includes three illustrative plates.
