Pierre Augustin Béclard

Who was Pierre Augustin Béclard?

Pierre Augustin Béclard was a French anatomist and surgeon who was a native of Angers. He was the father of physiologist Jules-Auguste Béclard.

He was a professor of anatomy in Paris and chief surgeon at Pitié Hospital, and in 1818 he was appointed to the chair of anatomy. He was considered a brilliant lecturer. With Jules Germain Cloquet, he translated William Lawrence's work on hernias from English into French as Traité des hernies.

Pierre Béclard is credited with introducing new amputative and surgical practices, performing in 1823 an extirpation of the parotid gland. His name is lent to the eponymous "Béclard's nucleus", defined as the core of ossification in the cartilage of the distal epiphysis of the femur during the latter part of fetal life. It is used in forensic medicine to determine the age of a fetus or newborn infant.