Ambroise Paré

Ambroise Paré (c. 1510 – 20 December 1590) was a French barber surgeon who served in that role for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. He is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds. He was also an anatomist, invented several surgical instruments, and was a member of the Parisian barber surgeon guild.

Quotes

• Je le pansai, Dieu le guérit.
  • I bandaged him, God healed him.
  • Saying inscribed on the pedestal of his statue in Laval. In 1522, near Metz, a citizen had been pierced by twelve sword thrusts and was left to die; but Paré was able to treat him: "I was his doctor, pharmacist, surgeon and cook: I bandaged him until the end of the treatment, and God healed him." — Jean-Michel Delacomptée, Ambroise Paré, La main savante (Gallimard, 2007), p. 166; originally from "Voyage d'Allemagne", Œuvres, vol. III, p. 698. Elsewhere Paré also wrote: "Preservation lies more in the divine providence than in the physician or surgeon’s advice." — Jean-Pierre Poirier, Ambroise Paré (Paris, 2006), p. 33. The sentiment is reminiscent of the Latin adage Medicus curat, natura sanat.—"The physician cures, nature heals."
  • Variant: Je le soignay—Dieu le guérit.