Skin and Medicine in the 18th CenturyProf. Severine Pilloud, Ph. D

Western University of Applied SciencesHEdS La Source

Lausanne, Switzerland

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An historical perspective on An historical perspective on discourses and practices related discourses and practices related to skin, body, and diseasesto skin, body, and diseases

Medical culture in the Age of Enlightenment

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Presentation’s main pointsPresentation’s main points

• Introduction: letters to a physician of the 18th Introduction: letters to a physician of the 18th

century, historical archives allowingcentury, historical archives allowing to decipher

the evolving visions of skin and to grasp

patients’ experience of sickness

• II. Social norms and representations II. Social norms and representations

related to skin: contact with skin in medical related to skin: contact with skin in medical

and chirurgical practicesand chirurgical practices

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• III. Skin, Aetiology, diagnosis and treatments III. Skin, Aetiology, diagnosis and treatments

in the medical culture of the 18th centuryin the medical culture of the 18th century

• IV. Diseases affecting skin: IV. Diseases affecting skin:

social and cultural images, stigma, suspicion social and cultural images, stigma, suspicion

of venereal pathologies, of venereal pathologies,

therapeutics involving skintherapeutics involving skin

• Conclusion: crucial importance of skin as Conclusion: crucial importance of skin as

interface between individuality and society, interface between individuality and society,

between the interior & exterior of the body between the interior & exterior of the body

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A famous Swiss physician: Samuel Auguste Tissot (1728-1797)

Tissot’s major treatisesTissot’s major treatises• L’onanismeL’onanisme (1760) (1760)• Avis au peuple sur sa santéAvis au peuple sur sa santé

(1761)(1761)• De la santé des gens de lettresDe la santé des gens de lettres

(1768)(1768)• Essai sur les maladies des gens Essai sur les maladies des gens

du mondedu monde (1770) (1770)• Traité de l’épilepsieTraité de l’épilepsie (1770) (1770)• Traité des nerfs et de leurs Traité des nerfs et de leurs

maladies maladies (1778-1780)(1778-1780)

PublicationsPublications at the basis of the at the basis of the constitution of Tissot’s constitution of Tissot’s epistolary network throughout epistolary network throughout Europe within literate social Europe within literate social classesclasses

Letters from Europe

BruxellesAmsterdamLa Haye

Londres

Édimbourg

Saint-Pétersbourg

Alger

NaplesRome

Florence

Milan

Gênes

Besançon

Lisbonne

Bordeaux

Montpellier

DijonLyon

Paris

GrenobleTurin

Between 2 et 5 letters

Between 6 et 10 letters

Between 11 et 15 letters

More than 15 letters

HanovreWaldeck Düsseldorf

Strasbourg, Nancy

Lausanne

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