J. M. D. Olmsted 467 



devote their afternoons either to practical exercises or to study; in the summer 

 semester they Hstened again in the mornings to the professors of materia 

 medica and of pathology; and in the afternoons they followed the course in 

 obstetrics on odd days only, and on even days at 4 p.m. attended lectures on 

 legal medicine and the history of medicine by Lassus and Mahon. From the 

 wording of the text it would seem that there might be a great deal of dupli- 

 cation, since there is nothing to show, for example, that the lectures in 

 anatomy-physiology occurring at the same hour for students in each of their 

 three years were not the same in subject matter. If, however, the instructors 

 rotated subjects so that they were different each year, it would seem that the 

 instruction adapted for first-year students would not be suitable for third- 

 years students, and vice versa. Perhaps duplication or even triplication was not 

 considered undesirable. In any case, the inauguration of an official series of 

 examinations, in which the various subjects were disposed of in a definite order, 

 must have brought about a corresponding reorganization of the curriculum 

 just nine years later. 



It w^as not long after the passing of the decree of 1794 establishing the three 

 Schools of Health that Napoleon took over the reins of government and at 

 the same time began his active military campaigns. The original provision for 

 300 students at Paris, 150 at Montpellier and 100 at Strasbourg did not suffice 

 to supply his armies, and on May 1, 1802, a further decree under the Consulate 

 permitted the creation of three additional "Schools of Medicine," as they 

 were now called, "one of which must be especially devoted to the study of 

 diseases of land and sea troops." It was not until June 9 of the following year 

 that the provisions of this decree w^ere carried out in part by the creation of 

 medical schools at Turin and Mayence. The year 1802 also saw the inaugura- 

 tion of the system of competitive examinations for externships and internships 

 so characteristic of modern French medical education. Arrangements were 

 made for two such competitions yearly for externships, and a single one for 

 the highest prize of a medical student's career, the internship. The first in- 

 terns received their promotion September 13, 1802. 



Another consular decree regarding medical schools, of equal importance 

 with the original Revolutionary decree of 1794, was passed on March 10, 1803. 

 Its object was to require any person adopting the professions of medicine or 

 surgery, or wishing to serve as a health officer, to undergo an examination and 

 be duly accepted by examining boards under government control. Until now 

 no diplomas had been issued by the medical schools established under the 

 Revolution, but from this time on candidates who successfully passed their 

 examinations were to bear through the authority of the Minister of the In- 

 terior the title of doctor of medicine, or doctor of surgery, or health officer. 

 Since all practitioners must hold a diploma, the claims of those who had 

 obtained degrees from pre-Revolutionary Faculties of Medicine and Colleges 

 of Surgery were recognized and provision was made for giving diplomas to 

 those who had studied the art of healing between 1793 and 1803. Bichat, who 



