46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



Treatise on Diseases of the Kidneys, and their Relations to Diseases 

 of the Bladder, the Prostate, and the Urethra." This was completed 

 in three volumes, and was illustrated by a folio atlas of sixty colored 

 plates. As soon as it appeared, it was received as the foremost book 

 of its kind. It was acknowledged as an authority in this country and 

 in England. Two separate translations of it into the German language 

 proved the value which German observers set upon it. Aided by the 

 microscope and the laboratory, later physiologists have gained a more 

 accurate knowledge of the pathology and physiology of the kidneys 

 than can be gathered from M. Rayer's work ; but this does not detract 

 from its value. It was a great addition to medical science. 



Besides these labors, M. Rayer found time to investigate a depart- 

 ment of pathology that before him was almost unknown, or at least un- 

 explored, namely, that of Comparative Medicine. The chair of that 

 name, which was established by the Medical Faculty of Paris in 1862, 

 was immediately offered to him as the person best qualified to fill it. 

 His monograph on glanders and farcy in the human subject is unique of 

 its kind. The extent of his general knowledge of medicine is shown 

 by the fact of his being one of the authors of the " Dictionary of 

 Practical Medicine," a sort of medical encyclopedia in fifteen volumes. 

 He was, moreover, a frequent contributor to various scientific journals, 

 such as " Les Archives de Medecine Comparee " ; " Les Memoires de 

 l'Academie des Sciences " ; " Le Nouveau Journal de Medecine," etc. 



It was said of M. Rayer, by one of his contemporaries, that " he was 

 not only distinguished by the works which he produced, but by those 

 which he inspired." The number of eminent men whose early studies 

 he directed and encouraged, and whose fortunes he sometimes aided in 

 most substantial ways, confirms the truth of this remark. Like Stahl 

 and Boerhaave, he loved to surround himself with a group of youthful 

 savans, whom he animated and guided. Claude Bernard, the inge- 

 nious and sagacious observer, who has contributed so largely to the ad- 

 vancement of physiology ; Robin, who has justly been called the creator 

 of French histology ; and Littre, whose translation of Hippocrates and 

 whose knowledge of historical medicine has earned for him so wide a 

 renown, — all were encouraged, substantially aided, and often guided in 

 their earlier and later studies by M. Rayer. 



As a practitioner, he was one of the most successful of the French 

 physicians. It was said of him that he was first among scientific phy- 

 sicians and also first among medical practitioners. His acquaintance 



