Application of the analytical method to the study of disease in France at the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century

Abstract

The majority of French physicians who experienced the transition from the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century chose the analytical method as a means of introducing rigour and certainty into the medical field. The large number of other important figures in French medicine that took part in this process should not be oberlooked, although the major role was played by Cabanis. The present article describes how the analytical method came to be applied to the study of disease, including the areas of nosology, semiology, diagnostics, and treatment.