Lyon in the 18th century
This was a period of rapid expansion for the city. The silk industry was at its most prosperous. The population of the city increased greatly as a consequence. The plans drawn up by Morand, the architect, meant that the city would be extended on the land to the east of the Rhône. Marshland was drained for building. The Brotteaux and Guillotière districts spread out between the old town and the great agricultural plains of Dauphiné.
It was at this time that the Hôtel-Dieu, like a temple to Medicine, was built as we still see it today. There, Claude Pouteau led the team of surgeons with whom Bourglat would study Anatomy.
The Academy which Bourgelat directed was situated at the 'Remparts d'Ainay', near St. Martin's Basilica. Today only the doorway remains at 17 rue Bourgelat, now the offices of the Mérieux Foundation.