As a young man Fournier served as an intern at the Hôpital du Midi as an understudy to
Philippe Ricord (1800–1889). In 1863 he became
médecine des hôpitaux, and from 1867 worked with
Augustin Grisolle (1811–1869) at the
Hôtel-Dieu de Paris. In 1876 he was appointed
chef de service at the
Hôpital Saint-Louis, later becoming a member of the
Académie de Médecine (1880). His main contribution to medical science was the study of
congenital syphilis, of which he provided a description of in 1883. In his numerous publications he stressed the importance of
syphilis being the cause of degenerative diseases. In addition, in 1901 he founded an organization devoted to spreading knowledge to combat syphilis, called the
Société Française de Prophylaxie Sanitaire et Morale. it was first described by a physician named Baurienne in 1764. • Fournier's sign: scars on the mouth following the healing of lesions in congenital syphilis. • Fournier's tibia:
fusiform thickening and anterior bowing of the
tibia in congenital syphilis. Along with his study of venereal disease, Fournier was also a
medical historian, republishing works by erstwhile physicians that included
Girolamo Fracastoro (1478–1553),
Giovanni de Vigo (1460–1525) and
Jacques de Béthencourt. ==Selected publications==