Introduction: A relatively unknown figure in history of urology, the archer of Meudon was reported to have undergone a successful pyelolithotomy in 1474. The notion of a successful, medieval-era kidney stone surgery is difficult to fathom. We sought to review the history and plausibility of the archer of Meudon’s story.
Methods: A comprehensive literature review was performed using primary and secondary sources from PubMed and Google Scholar.
Results: Originally chronicled by Bernard de Mandrot, the story of the archer began in 1474 in Paris, France. According to Mandrot, the archer was arrested for theft in various places—including a church in the town of Meudon—and condemned to death for sacrilege. However, a petition by the royal physicians to vivisect the archer and learn about kidney stones was approved by the French king, noting that many people, including the archer, suffered from this condition. Once “the appropriate opening and incision was made in the body of the archer, and the site of the disease in question sought out and scrutinized inside him…he was sewn up again and his entrails put back in; and he received, by order of the king, the very best of care and dressings, so good that within a fortnight he was completely restored to health.”
Further scrutiny, however, raises additional questions. The original account was vague, as it failed to specify if the stone—if any—was in the bladder or kidney. While the text mentions a full recovery, additional supporting details also remain absent. Although anatomic dissections were common in the 15th century, this account is mentioned neither in the official record of the Paris Faculty of Medicine nor in any other surviving royal document. Later translations, particularly by Mézeray, further obscure the story, falsely misinterpreting the account to be a pyelolithotomy. However, Rousset’s later interpretation of the tale was widely accepted, indicating the archer likely underwent a suprapubic incision for a bladder stone removal. Because of myriad misinterpretations, the story of the archer, once used to justify the safety and efficacy of early surgical procedures, was later superseded by evidence-based medicine. Today, the first successful pyelolithotomy has been attributed to Dr. William Ingalls in 1872.
Conclusions: While early historians attribute the archer of Meudon to be one of the first accounts of a pyelolithotomy, direct scrutiny reveals numerous discrepancies. It is unclear if this account is true, as additional supporting evidence is lacking, and later accounts are mired with inaccuracies. Nonetheless, such tales are reminders of the importance of the scientific scrutiny, as well as the achievements of modern surgery and urology.
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