An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

BERCHON, Ernest

1 entries
  • 13817

Histoire médicale du tatouage. Anatomie - Physiologie - Médecine légale - Pathologie - Applications chirurgicales.

Paris: J.-B. Baillière et fils, 1869.

Médecin Principal de la Marine, Berchon based his research on the increasing numbers of tattooed sailors in the French navy. In 1861 he observed the transmission of syphilis from one sailor to another, who claimed to be a virgin. Berchon decided that the disease had been transmitted through spit in the act of tattooing, and as a result the French navy began to discourage or prohibit tattooing - one element in driving of the art underground.

Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link. "Extrait des Archives de médecine navale t.XI et XII, 1869."



Subjects: ANTHROPOLOGY › Tatooing, POLICY, HEALTH › Public Health