Illustration of Baron Guillaume Dupuytren (1777-1835), French surgeon and anatomist. At just 18 years old, Dupuytren was employed by the School of Medicine in Paris to teach anatomy and conduct autopsies. He was appointed assistant surgeon at the hospital Hotel-Dieu in 1803, professor of surgery in 1811 and went on to become professor of clinical surgery at the School of Medicine and head surgeon at the Hotel-Dieu by 1816. He had an extensive private practice and gained a considerable fortune in his lifetime. In 1831 he described an operation to correct Dupuytren's contracture, a condition where tendon shortening occurs in the hand. Illustration from 1835.