[Medecine and chemistry in the context of the Enlightenment: the thesis of the Lausanne physician Marc-Louis Vullyamoz].
The chemico-medical essay "De sale lactis essentiali" is a thesis presented in Leyden in 1756 by a physician from Lausanne, M.-L. Vullyamoz, to obtain the medical degree. It shows that chemistry has become a university science connected with medicine and that combustion was explained at that time by G. E. Stahl's theory of the phlogiston. It reminds us that the hypotheses of this German physician, which were part of the animistic doctrine, were widely adopted in Europe. In chemistry they began to fade in 1789 after the publication of Lavoisier's work on oxydation. Nevertheless, they have contributed to establish a modern science. In medicine Stahl's animism evolved towards vitalism, which survived in several forms. Vullyamoz's thesis, which presents chemical experiences intended to analyse and promote a popular medicine, is a testimony of the spirit of Enlightenment, which rejects dogmatism and tries to understand facts through observation and the use of reason.
Terrier
Georges
G
l'Université de Lausanne, Les Herses 10, CH-2322 Le Crêt-du-Locle.
D004212:Academic Dissertations as Topic / Q000266:history*; D002624:Chemistry, Clinical / Q000266:history*; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D008374:Manuscripts, Medical as Topic / Q000266:history*; D013557:Switzerland