title: [An iatrochemist in Lower Canada: François Blanchet and his Research on medicine, or application of chemistry in medicine].
abstract: Francois Blanchet holds a central place in the history of medicine in Lower Canada (now Quebec): a prime mover in the professionalization of French-Canadian physicians, Blanchet was also one of the first Canadians to have studied outside of Canada. While he was in New York, where he studied medicine at Columbia College, he published a book entitled Recherches sur la medecine ou application de la chimie a la medicine. The historiography of Canadian medicine frequently cites this book and presents it as one of the first Canadian medical publications but has not always explored its scientific content. This article therefore examines the medico-chemical aspects of Blanchet's work. Influenced by the Lavoisian revolution in chemistry, Blanchet elaborated a system where etiology and therapy rested on two new elements of nomenclature put forward by French chemists--oxygen and caloric. After examining Blanchet's iatrochemical system, this article compared Recherches sur la medecine with contemporaneous American and European publications in medicine which were themselves inspired by the pneumatic theory of French chemists.
authors.affiliation: Centre Interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie, Université du Québec à Montrèal.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castonguay
mesh_terms: D001877:Books / Q000266:history*; D002170:Canada; D002624:Chemistry, Clinical / Q000266:history*; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century
vernacular_title: Un iatrochimiste du Bas-Canada: François Blanchet et les Recherches sur la médecine ou application de la chimie à la médecine.