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'[[File:GuyDeChaulhac.jpg|thumb|Guy de Chauliac]] '''Guy de Chauliac''' or '''Guigonis de Caulhaco''' (ca. 1300 – 25 July 1368) was a French [[physician]] and [[surgeon]] who wrote a lengthy and influential [[treatise]] on surgery in Latin, titled ''[[Chirurgia Magna]]''. It was translated into many other languages (including [[Middle English]] circa 1425) and widely read by physicians in late medieval Europe. ==Life== Guy de Chauliac was in born in [[Chaulhac]], [[Lozère]], France, into a family of modest means.<ref name="source book">Grant, Edward: ''A Source Book in Medieval Science'', page 816. Harvard University Press, 1974.</ref> He began his study of medicine in [[Toulouse]] before going to study in [[Montpellier]], a center of medical knowledge in 14th century Europe. He was in Paris between 1315 and 1320, and around 1325, he became a Master of Medicine and Surgery.<ref name="Thevenet">Thevenet, Andre: "Guy de Chauliac (1300–1370): The Father of Surgery" ''Annals of Vascular Surgery'' Volume 7, Number 2, page 208</ref> After receiving his degree, he went to [[Bologna]] to study anatomy under [[Nicola Bertuccio]], from whom he may have learned surgical techniques. It is unknown whether de Chauliac applied his surgical studies and knowledge. Charles H. Talbot writes, "It was seemingly from books that [Chauliac] learned his surgery.... He may have used the knife when embalming the bodies of dead popes, but he was careful to avoid it on living patients".<ref name="Lindberg">Lindberg, David C.: ''Science in the Middle Ages'', page 410. University of Chicago Press, 1978.</ref> Others, including Thevenet, claim that Chauliac moved to [[Mende, Lozère|Mende]] and then [[Lyon|Lyons]] to practice medicine after learning the art of surgery from Bertuccio.<ref name="Thevenet"/> Chauliac's reputation as a physician grew quickly. He was invited to the [[Avignon Papacy|Papal Court in Avignon]], France, to serve as a personal physician to [[Pope Clement VI]] (1342–1352). He went on become personal physician to [[Pope Innocent VI]] (1352–1362), and then to [[Pope Urban V]] (1362–1370). He died in Avignon in 1368. He completed his great treatise in 1363. ===Plagues=== When the [[Black Death]] arrived in Avignon in 1348, physicians fled the city, However, Chauliac stayed on, treating plague patients and documenting symptoms meticulously. He claimed to have been himself infected and survived the disease. Through his observations, Chauliac distinguished between the two forms of the disease, the [[Bubonic Plague]] and the [[Pneumonic Plague]]. As a precautionary measure, he advised Pope Clement to keep a fire burning continuously in his chamber and to keep visitors out.<ref name="Thevenet"/> The plague was recognized as being contagious although the agent of contagion was unknown; as treatment Chauliac recommended air be purified, [[venesection]] (bleeding), and healthy diet. The outbreak of plague and widespread death was blamed on Jews, who were [[heretics]], and in some areas were believed to have poisoned wells; Chauliac fought against this idea, using science to declare the theory untrue.<ref name="bulletin">''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' 72.3 (1998) pages 533–535</ref><ref>Tuchman, Barbara. (1978). ''The Distant Mirror''. New York: Ballatine. p. 111</ref> ==Works== ===''Chirurgia magna''=== Chauliac's seminal work on surgery, ''[[Chirurgia magna]]'', was finished in 1363 in Avignon. In seven volumes, the treatise covers anatomy, bloodletting, cauterization, drugs, anesthetics, wounds, fractures, ulcers, special diseases, and antidotes.<ref name="bulletin"/> Among de Chaulic's treatments he described the use of [[bandages]] and he also believed [[pus]] from an infection was beneficial to the healing process. He describes surgical techniques such as [[intubation]], [[tracheotomy]], and [[suturing]].<ref name = "Glick214"/> Chauliac quoted frequently from other medical works, written by contemporaries or those written by earlier physicians and anatomists, as he sought to describe the history of medicine. He claimed that surgery began with [[Hippocrates]] and Galen, and was developed in the Arab world by [[Haly Abbas]], [[Albucasis]], and [[Al-Razi]]. Through his position as papal physician, Chauliac had access to Galen's texts, recently translated by [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccolò_da_Reggio Niccolò da Reggio] from original Greek versions, which were more accurate than the Latin translations.<ref name = "Glick214">Glick (2005), 214</ref> ''Chirurgia magna'' was greatly influenced by Islamic scientists, and de Chauliac references Galen and [[Avicenna]] often in the work. The work became popular and was translated into English, French, Dutch, Italian, and [[Occitan language|Provençal]]. It was reworked multiple times, including to remove references to Islamic scientists, to the point that the work was no longer recognizable as Chauliac's own.<ref name="bulletin"/> De Chauliac recognized the importance of Montpellier with respect to surgical study.<ref name="bulletin"/> ====Emphasis on anatomy==== Galen's influence on Chauliac can clearly be seen in the latter's belief that surgeons should have a thorough understanding of anatomy. He wrote, "A surgeon who does not know his anatomy is like a blind man carving a log".<ref name="Thevenet"/> He also describes the dissection of a corpse in accordance with Galen's beliefs about the human body. De Chauliac's (and his contemporaries) unwillingness to look outside of textbook knowledge was one of the reasons that Chauliac's anatomical descriptions are not always correct. ===Other works=== Three other works were written by Chauliac: ''[[Practica astrolabii]]'' (De astronomia), an essay on astrology; ''[[De ruptura]]'', which describes different types of [[hernias]]; and ''[[De subtilianti diaeta]]'', describing treatments for [[cataracts]]. ==References== <references/> ==Bibliography== *Glick, Thomas F. et al. (2005). ''Medieval Science, Technology and Medicine: an Encyclopedia''. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-96930-1 *''Guigonis De Caulhiaco'' (Guy de Chaulliac), ''Inventarium Sive Chirurgia Magna'', Michael R. McVaugh, Margrete S. Ogden (editors), Brill Publishers, 1997. ISBN 90-04-10784-3. Reviewed here: [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1044311] *Guy de Chaulliac, ''Guy de Chauliac Biography (c. 1300-c. 1368)'', 2008. ISBN 90-04-10784-3. Reviewed here: [http://www.faqs.org/health/bios/53/Guy-de-Chauliac.html] *Ogden, Margaret. (1977). "Review of Guy de Chauliac's Middle English Translation". ''The Review of English Studies''. Vol 28, number 111. {{Authority control|VIAF=100205722}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME =Chauliac, Guy De | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = 1368 | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Chauliac, Guy De}} [[Category:Medieval French physicians]] [[Category:14th-century French people]] [[Category:1300s births]] [[Category:1368 deaths]] [[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]'