Le Dran, famous French lithotomist, improved the operation of lithotomy. Murphy credits him for originating the lateral lithotomy usually attributed to Cheselden, whose method he discusses. Le Dran was one of Haller’s teachers.

English translation, 1743.

Le Dran discarded the humoral conception of cancer for the first time. He regarded cancer as a local disease in its early stage and knew that it spread via the lymphatics to regional nodes, and from there into the general circulation. He described with great clarity the path of metastasis in breast carcinoma, including involvement of the lungs.