Alexis Boyer (1 March 175723 November 1833) was a French

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, born in

Corrèze Corrèze (; ) is a département in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, on the bo ...

. He was the son of a tailor, and he obtained his first medical knowledge in the shop of a

barber surgeon The barber surgeon was one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians. Instead, barbers, who ...

. When he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he had the good fortune to attract the attention of renowned surgeons

Antoine Louis Antoine Louis () (13 February 1723 – 20 May 1792) was a French surgeon and physiologist. He was originally trained in medicine by his father, a sergeant major at a local military hospital. As a young man he moved to Paris, where he served as ' ...

(1723–1792) and

Pierre-Joseph Desault Pierre-Joseph Desault (6 February 1738 – 1 June 1795) was a French anatomist and surgeon. Biography Pierre-Joseph Desault was born in Vouhenans, Franche-Comté. He was destined for a career in the Church, but his own inclination was towards the ...

(1744–1795). Boyer persevered at his profession, and became notorious for his anatomical knowledge and surgical dexterity. At the age of 37 he was appointed second surgeon to the

Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu () was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris being the oldest an ...

in Paris. On the establishment of the

École de Sante École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, he was named chair of operative surgery, but soon exchanged it for the chair of clinical surgery. Boyer specialized in urological pathology, especially disorders of

micturition Urination is the release of urine from the bladder through the urethra in placental mammals, or through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, ures ...

. Boyer was a cautious and finicky physician, not always trusting of new innovations in treatment. He practiced and wrote with skill and sense. His two masterworks are ' (in 4 vols., 1797–1799), of which a fourth edition appeared in 1815, and ' (in 2 vols., 1814–1826), of which a newer edition in seven volumes was published in 1844–1853 with additions by his son, Philippe Boyer (1801–1858). In 1805,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

promoted Boyer to the status of imperial family surgeon, and, after the successful campaigns of 1806 and 1807, conferred on him the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, with the title of baron of the empire and a salary of 25,000 francs. On the fall of Napoleon, Boyer's merits secured him the favor of the succeeding sovereigns of France, and he was consulting surgeon to

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

, and

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. In 1825 Boyer succeeded J. F. L. Deschamps (1740–1824) as surgeon-in-chief at

Hôpital de la Charité Hôpital de la Charité (, "Charity Hospital") was a hospital in Paris founded by the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God in the 17th century. In 1935, it was closed and demolished to make way for the new faculty of medicine. Located at 45, ...

, and was chosen a member of the

Institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

. He died in Paris in 1833.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Alexis 1757 births 1833 deaths Members of the French Academy of Sciences French surgeons Barons de Boyer