Le sang : Représentations et pratiques médicales en France du XVI au XVIII siècle
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Abstract EN:
This work proposes to trace the developments in french medical thinking with regard to the blood from the 16th to the 18th century. The representations of the blood and the practices resulting from this testify to the durable influence of galenism despite the advent of a more rational attitude. The way in which this organic liquid was viewed by medical practitioners gradually changed during modern times. The progress made in the knowledge of blood, such as the discovery of the circulation or the observation of the red corpuscles, led physicians to gain a clearer understanding of various aspects such as its nature, formation and movement. Nevertheless, some ancient conceptions remained linked to the idea of blood, which was supposed to characterisse individuals, both physically and morally. For the practitioners, the blood remained both a source of life and death. The improvement in medical knowledge did not profoundly change this overvaluation of the role of blood in physiology and above all in pathology, resulting in therapists tending to emphasise the value of haemorrhages. Following this idea, menstrual blood was particularly suited to nourishing the perplexity of people's minds, even the most enlightened, when confronted with the difficult question of feminine nature. Blood also came into play in various forms of therapeutic practices. Concerning blood letting, the theory of the cardinal humours and the discovery of the circulation did not find here a veritable area of disagreement. In point of fact, this operation remained, to varying degrees, a constant feature of modern france. The use of blood as a remedy, whether at the time of the first attempts at transfusion or, more generally, in the traditional pharmacopoeia, testifies to the powers attributed to blood by the physicians themselves.
Abstract FR:
Ce travail propose de restituer l'evolution de la pensee medicale francaise relative au sang du xvie au xviiie siecle. Les representations du sang et les pratiques en decoulant, attestent de l'influence durable du galenisme malgre le developpement d'une attitude plus rationnelle. Le regard porte sur ce liquide organique par les medecins s'est modifie progressivement au cours de l'epoque moderne. Les progres realises dans la connaissance du sang, comme la decouverte de la circulation ou l'observation des globules rouges, amenent les medecins a en mieux cerner differents aspects tels que sa nature, sa formation et son mouvement. Neanmoins une certaine permanence des conceptions antiques reste associee a la vision du sang, lequel est cense caracteriser, tant du point de vue physique que moral, les individus. Pour les praticiens, le sang reste a la fois source de vie et source de mort. L'amelioration des connaissances medicales n'a pas profondement transforme cette surevaluation du role du sang dans la physiologie et surtout dans la pathologie, d'ou une tendance a la valorisation de l'hemorragie par les therapeutes. Suivant cette idee, le sang menstruel est particulierement propre a nourrir la perplexite des esprits, meme les plus eclaires, alors confrontes a la difficile question de la nature feminine. Le sang intervient aussi dans differents modes de pratiques therapeutiques. Concernant la saignee, theorie des humeurs et decouverte de la circulation n'ont pas trouve ici un veritable terrain de desaccord. En effet, cette operation demeure, a des degres divers, une constante dans la france moderne. L'utilisation du sang comme remede, que ce soit a l'occasion des premieres tentatives de transfusion ou, plus generalement, dans la pharmacopee traditionnelle, temoigne des pouvoirs attribues au sang par les medecins eux-memes.