Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1621

PHILIPPE RICORD (1800-1889) Traité pratique des maladies vénériennes. J. Rouvier 1838 808 pp. 21.5 cm.

Born in Baltimore of French parents, Ricord received his medical education in Paris. As surgeon to the Hôpital du Midi, which at that time was devoted solely to treating male venereal afflictions, Ricord gained international fame as a brilliant lecturer and scientist. In this, his major work, Ricord details the results of over 2,500 experiments proving the distinction between syphilis and gonorrhea, thus overthrowing the teaching of John Hunter (see No. 968 ff.) who considered the two to be identical. Ricord's descriptions of the three phases of syphilis and the accompanying case histories remain as accurate today as when he wrote them.

See Related Record(s): 968

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 2381; Waller 7974

Gift of John Martin, M.D.