| During the eighteenth century, there were calls for the reform of French medicine from numerous quarters. Intellectuals, social reformers, physicians and surgeons alike recognized the shortcomings of overcrowded hospitals and variable standards of medical education. By the end of the eighteenth century, the events of the French Revolution had created a climate in which change could occur. As a result of various institutional, professional and theoretical reforms in French medicine, by the 1820s France had advanced to the forefront of the medical world.;The increased opportunity for practical experience that was one of the defining features of the new French medicine drew hundreds of foreign medical professionals and students to France. This thesis analyses the perceptions of American medical observers in particular, and finds that their observations shed valuable light on the changing face of French medicine. In particular, the commentaries of American medical men provide insight into the changing conception of medical authority, as chronicled by the influential scholar Michel Foucault. |
