Michel-Philippe Bouvart (

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, 11 January 1717 –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 19 January 1787) was a French medical doctor. He was made a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

in 1743 and a professor in the Paris Faculty of Medicine in 1745 and also in the Collège Royal in 1745, where he took the medical chair previously held by Pierre-Jean Burette.

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

granted him letters of nobility and the

Order of St. Michael , status = Abolished by decree of Louis XVI on 20 June 1790Reestablished by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Louis XI of France , h ...

in 1768 or 1769.Hugh James Rose, ''A New General Biographical Dictionary'', 184
4:484, ''s.v.''
/ref> Bouvart was famous for his quick diagnoses and accurate prognoses, but also for his caustic wit and polemical writing against his fellow physicians, notably

Théodore Tronchin Théodore Tronchin (24 May 1709 – 30 November 1781) was a physician from the Republic of Geneva. Life A native of Geneva, he studied initially at the University of Cambridge, then transferred to the University of Leiden, where he was a pupil ...

Théophile de Bordeu Théophile de Bordeu (22 February 1722 – 23 November 1776) was a French physician. Bordeu was an early advocate of vitalism. His pupils included Louis Lépecq de La Clôture. Works and publications *1754: ''Aquitaniae minerales aquae'', Par ...

, Exupère Joseph Bertin,

Antoine Petit Antoine Petit (23 July 1722 – 21 October 1794) was a French physician, master of Joseph-Ignace Guillotin and Félix Vicq d'Azyr. Biography Antoine Petit, born in Orléans, was the son of a tailor. He received a disciplined education and, a ...

. He was opposed to inoculation against smallpox. He championed Virginia polygala or Seneka as a remedy for

snakebite A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may occu ...

.Alexander Chalmers, ''The General Biographical Dictionary etc.'', 6''
247
/ref> Although he was able and learned, he is perhaps best known for his witticisms. Gaston de Lévis, ''Souvenirs et portraits, 1780-1789'', 1813
p. 240
/ref>

Witticisms

Variants of Bouvart's quip about the

placebo effect A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

of using a new treatment or medicine "while it still works" are often quoted without crediting him. A "regular prelate" (prélat régulier) is a high-ranking churchman; this is a play on words, implying that he was irregular, that is, immoral. Abbot Terray is

Joseph Marie Terray Abbot Joseph Marie Terray (1715 – 18 February 1778) was a Controller-General of Finances during the reign of Louis XV of France, an agent of fiscal reform. Biography Terray, tonsured but not a priest, was appointed in 1736 an ecclesiastical co ...

. This story has been compared to

Euricius Cordus Euricius Cordus born Heinrich Ritze (1486 – 24 December 1535) was a German humanist poet, physician, botanist and naturalist. He is considered one of the founders of botany in Germany. Cordus was born in Simtshausen near Marburg the youngest of t ...

's epigram:

Early life

Bouvart's father Claude was a physician.Guénet, ''Eloge historique'' Michel-Philippe received his medical degree in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in 1730 and practiced in Chartres. In 1736, he left for Paris.

Bibliography

* Antoine Jean Baptiste Maclou Guenet, ''Éloge historique de Michel-Philippe Bouvart'', chez Quillau, Paris, 178
full text
*

Nicolas de Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal pu ...

, ''Éloge de M. Bouvart'', dans ''Éloges des académiciens de l'Académie royale des sciences, morts depuis l'an 1783'', chez Frédéric Vieweg, Brunswick et Paris, 1799,
full text
* Dezobry et Bachelet, ''Dictionnaire de biographie'' 1 Delagrave, 1876, p. 359 * Jean Baptiste Glaire, vicomte Joseph-Alexis Walsh, Joseph Chantrel, ''Encyclopédie catholique'', 184
full text
* ''Bibliothèque chartraine'', dans ''Mémoires de la Société archéologique de l'Orléanais'' 19:51-53, 188
full text

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouvart, Michel-Philippe 18th-century French physicians Members of the French Academy of Sciences Collège de France faculty University of Paris faculty 1717 births 1787 deaths