Philippe Petit-Radel (Paris, 7 February 1749 – 30 November 1815) was a French physician, surgeon and writer, editor of the two volumes devoted to Surgery by the ''

Encyclopédie méthodique The ''Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières'' ("Methodical Encyclopedia by Order of Subject Matter") was published between 1782 and 1832 by the French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter's ...

''.

Biography

At the age of seventeen, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree and entered the

Hôpital de la Charité Hôpital de la Charité (, "Charity Hospital") was a hospital in Paris founded in the 17th century and closed in 1935. History In 1606, Marie de Médicis invited the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God to come to France. The Abbot of Sain ...

. After obtaining a medal, he was appointed assistant major at the

Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

and continued his medical and surgical studies under the direction of Sabatier.He was not able to study surgery at

Val-de-Grâce The (' or ') was a military hospital located at in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016. History The church of the was built by order of Queen Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII. After the birth of h ...

because it was with the Revolution that the whole of Val-de-Grâce became a military hospital: the regulation of 30 Floréal year IV (19 May 1796) transformed it into a training hospital; this was the birth of the Val-de-Grâce School. Appointed in 1774 as the king's surgeon-major for the French possessions in “

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

", he held this post in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

for three years and took the opportunity to perfect his English language skills, which later, in 1787, enabled him to publish several translations of English medical works. It was also in 1774 that he became a Freemason. On his return to France, in 1777, he was awarded a doctorate in medicine at the University of ReimsSome authors write Rennes (see ''Renseignements pour servir à l'histoire de l'Île de France jusqu'à l'année 1810'') and then in Paris (1781 or 1782). He opened a private school, and for two years taught anatomy and surgery. In 1788, he obtained the chair of surgery. He was busy writing the volumes devoted to Surgery in the ''

'' with Daniel de La Roche, father of

François-Étienne de La Roche François-Étienne de La Roche (or Delaroche) (9 December 1781 – 23 December 1813) was a Genevan physician, naturalist, chemist, botanist and ichthyologist. Early life and family He was born in Geneva to Marie Castanet and Daniel de La Roche ...

, when the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

broke out. At the time of the

insurrection of 10 August 1792 The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the monar ...

, he abruptly left the French capital and fled to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. He was teaching public classes there, when he was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

(''

Levée en masse ''Levée en masse'' ( or, in English, "mass levy") is a French term used for a policy of mass national conscription, often in the face of invasion. The concept originated during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the period followi ...

'') as a soldier and had to fight against the insurgents in the Vendée. But he managed to escape and in June 1793 he embarked on the ''Pigon'' an American ship which had been chartered for the

Isle de France (Mauritius) Isle de France () was the name of the Indian Ocean island which is known as Mauritius and its dependent territories between 1715 and 1810, when the area was under the French East India Company and a part of the French colonial empire. Under th ...

. After a stay in this island, he went to

Bourbon Island Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Br ...

(Réunion), and remained there for about two years, until he heard that Captain Lewis, who had brought him from Bordeaux a few years before, was in the Isle de France. He went to join him there, and sailed with him to the " Great Indies", in April 1796. From there he went to the United States of America, again stopping at the Isle de France. Returning to France for the second time in 1797, he resumed his medical studies and literary work. In 1798, he was elected to the chair of surgical clinic at the Paris School of Medicine, where he distinguished himself by his severity and his zeal to re-establish the ancient practice of speaking Latin. He died in 1815 from a stomach disease. He lived

Rue Monsieur-le-Prince Rue Monsieur-le-Prince is a street of Paris, located in the 6th arrondissement. It is named after the Prince of Condé, whose palace bordered it. From 1793 to 1805 the street was called ''Rue de la Liberté''. The street features in the title of ...

, n° 10.

Works

* Translation of ''The Anatomy of the Absorbing Vessels of the Human Body'' of

William Cumberland Cruikshank William Cumberland Cruikshank (1745 in Edinburgh – 27 June 1800) was a British physician and anatomist. He was the author of ''The Anatomy of the Absorbing Vessels of the Human Body'', which was first published in 1786.Pilcher, Lewis Stephe ...

(1787). * * * * * * Translation of *

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit-Radel, Philippe French surgeons 18th-century French physicians 1749 births 1815 deaths Physicians from Paris French Freemasons