Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The National Academy of Surgery was founded in 1731, when Georges Mareschal and François La Peyronie, surgeons of Louis XV, founded the Royal Academy of Surgery. Located at the Théâtre Saint-Côme (5 rue de l'École-de-Médecine), this institution marks the emancipation of surgery from medicine, then dominated by the teaching faculties in Latin. The Academy was dissolved in 1793 under the Terror, but was reborn in 1843 as the Société de Surgerie de Paris, before becoming a national in 1875 and then an academy in 1935.

The development of surgery in the 18th century is closely linked to the theatres of anatomy, such as that of Saint-Côme (1696), where dissections and teachings are held. Louis XV supported this discipline after resounding surgical successes, such as the operation of an anal fistula by Charles François Felix in 1686. The Royal Academy of Surgery, official in 1748, organized public courses there before moving in 1775 to a new amphitheater (12 rue de l'École-de-Médecine), inaugurated by Louis XVI. Its suppression in 1793 interrupted a flourishing scientific dynamic.

In the 19th century, the surgeons, led by Auguste Nelaton or Jean-François Malgaigne, left the Academy of Medicine in 1843 to recreate an autonomous society, recognized as a public utility in 1859. Technical progress (anesthetic, antisepsia) transforms practice, while the institution finally settles in 1993 at 15 rue de l'École-de-Medécine, 200 years after its revolutionary closure. Today, the National Academy of Surgery (1997) promotes innovation ( robotic surgery, virtual reality) while preserving its ethical and historical heritage.

The architecture of the site, partially classified as Historic Monuments, reflects its prestige. The neoclassical central corps, built by Jacques Gondoin between 1769 and 1774 for the Royal Academy, houses the great amphitheater and the Council Chamber. It was enlarged at the end of the 19th century by Léon Ginain, and also includes the Museum of the History of Medicine. Academic symbols, such as the blue azure habit or the royal tokens, recall its status as a scholarly institution, distinct from the Academy of Medicine (created in 1820).

The Academy's contemporary missions include defining good surgical practices, evaluating innovations (artificial intelligence, big data) and continuing training of practitioners. Since 1731 she has published scientific memoirs, now digitized as e-Memories. His role as guardian of ethics and surgical ethics makes him a key player, between tradition (companion in the block) and modernity (surgery 4.0).

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