Jean-André Venel

Jean-André Venel (28 May 1740 – 9 March 1791) was a Swiss surgeon and a pioneer in the field of orthopedics.

Biography

Venel was born on 28 May 1740 in Morges, Vaud, the son of Jean-François Venel, a barber surgeon and perruquier, and Françoise-Elizabeth Guex. He apprenticed as a surgeon with François-David Cabanis in Geneva. Nicolas Andry, in his work Orthopaedia, or the Art of Preventing and Correcting Deformities in Children (English edition 1741), had been the first to use the term "orthopaedia", but Venel is regarded by many as the "father of orthopaedics" because of his development of the practical applications.

Works Nouveaux Secours Pour les Corps arrêtés Dans L’Oesophage; Ou Description De quatre Instrumens plus propres qu’aucun des anciens moyens à retirer ces Corps par la Bouche. (1769) Essai sur la santé et sur l’éducation médicinale des filles destinées au mariage. (1776)