Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1219

JEAN LOUIS MARIE ALIBERT (1768-1837) Description des maladies de la peau observées à l'Hôpital Saint-Louis. Chez Barrois l'aîné et fils 1806 [4] xxii, 232 pp., [52] col. plates. 51.2 cm.

Alibert studied for the priesthood with intentions of becoming a teacher. However, this career was ended by the Revolution when all religious orders were disbanded. Influenced by friends in Paris, Alibert turned to the study of medicine and completed his degree with a highly acclaimed thesis on pernicious intermittent fevers. Soon after graduation he was appointed to the staff of the Hôpital St. Louis where his brilliant work brought the hospital to preeminence in the treatment of skin diseases and earned him an historic role as the founder of French dermatology. He developed a classification of skin diseases using Linnaean (see No. 878) concepts but it proved to be impractical compared to Willan's (see No. 1155) classification and was eventually abandoned. Nevertheless, Alibert made important contributions with his descriptions of lupus vulgaris, keloid, dermatolysis, mycosis fungoides, and cutaneous leishmaniasis. Among the terms he coined that remain in use today are: dermatolysis, syphilid, keloid, and dermatosis. The present work, with engravings by Salvatore Tresca (1750?-1815), is a notable achievement in dermatological illustration and is the first French work to contain plates on this subject. Along with Willan, Alibert was a pioneer in illustrating skin diseases and the hand-colored plates in this work are notable from both the medical and artistic standpoint. This copy is lacking the final fifty-four pages as well as the last four colored plates.

See Related Record(s): 878 1155

Cited references: Cushing A133; Garrison-Morton 3986; Waller 356; Wellcome II, p. 31