1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Dupuytren, Guillaume

DUPUYTREN, GUILLAUME, Baron (1777–1835), French anatomist and surgeon, was born on the 6th of October 1777 at Pierre Buffière (Haute Vienne). He studied medicine in Paris at the newly established École de Médecine, and was appointed by competition prosector when only eighteen years of age. His early studies were directed chiefly to morbid anatomy. In 1803 he was appointed assistant-surgeon at the Hôtel-Dieu, and in 1811 professor of operative surgery in succession to R. B. Sabatier (1732–1811). In 1815 he was appointed to the chair of clinical surgery, and became head surgeon at the Hôtel-Dieu. Dupuytren’s energy and industry were alike remarkable. He visited the Hôtel-Dieu morning and evening, performing at each time several operations, lectured to vast throngs of students, gave advice to his outdoor patients, and fulfilled the duties consequent upon one of the largest practices of modern times. By his indefatigable activity he amassed a fortune of £300,000, the bulk of which he bequeathed to his daughter, with the deduction of considerable sums for the endowment of the anatomical chair in the École de Médecine, and the establishment of a benevolent institution for distressed medical men. The most important of Dupuytren’s writings is his Treatise on Artificial Anus, in which he applied the principles laid down by John Hunter. In his operations he was remarkable for his skill and dexterity, and for his great readiness of resource. He died in Paris on the 8th of February 1835.