Precis de la Medicine Pratique (1765). – in two volumes (Summary of Medical Matters and Summary of Medical Practice).
Joseph Lieutaud (1703-1780)
Joseph Lieutaud was born 1703 in Aix-en-Provence. The youngest and weakest of twelve children, he was designated to become a priest. His uncle, Garidel, a famous botanist, influenced his choice of pursuing science and medicine. He devoted himself to the study of plants under his uncle's supervision, obtained a doctorate at the faculty of Aix, and, in 1725, completed his medical studies at the University of Montpellier. After graduation, he was appointed doctor at the Hôtel-Dieu.
During his stay in Aix, he published two works; the first was anatomical, under the title of Essais Anatomique; the other was Physiologie.
Among the many honors in his life, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1739, named State Councilor, became first physician to Louis XVI and his prince brothers, named professor of medicine at the University of Aix, doctor regent of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, member of the Academy of Sciences, president of the Medical Society of Paris, and physician to the Dauphine des Enfants de France (future Louis XV). Louis XV entrusted him with the supervision of his children. However, on the death of Louis XV, Louis XVI chose Lieutaud to occupy the position of first doctor. He died in 1780 in Versailles after a short illness termed "a gangrenous inflammation of the chest", probably pneumonia.
He published Précis de médecine pratique, in four volumes (1760-1776). First written in Latin, they were translated into French. It contains a long list of medications, classifications, and compositions with commentaries (see table of content above).
Editorial notes by Andrew I Spielman based on Vicq-d'Azyr, Félix (éd.) Encyclopédie Méthodique. Médecine, par une Société de Médecins, 1808.
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