[A provincial physician's interest in mineral waters and monsters in the 17th century].

After 15 years of medical practice, a physician working in Gatinais (a region situated south of Orleans) decided, in 1649, to write books, which he did until he was 80 years old in 1692. One of these books, whose English title was, The Poor Man's Physician and Surgeon (published in London in 1704) had a great success. The first two (1649 and 1650) dealt with esoteric topics for the time. Analyzing these works presents the opportunity to understand how this "Doctor of the University of Montpellier" interpreted traditional anatomy and physiology, as well as his receptiveness to new therapeutic methods.