Frere Jacques Beaulieu: From rogue lithotomist to nursery rhyme character

Purpose: We discuss the history of Frere Jacques Beaulieu, a celebrated 17t h century French lithotomist, and question the relationship of his name to a well-known nursery rhyme character. Materials and Methods: We reviewed historical reports about Beaulieu and hi s career as a lithotomist, Nursery rhyme interpretations were also reviewed . Results: Beaulieu was born in 1651 to a peasant family and learned the prac tice of lithotomy by apprenticeship. He was never formally ordained yet don ned a monk habit and called himself Frere Jacques. He was the first person to use the lateral approach to perineal lithotomy and openly shared his sur gical technique. His lithotomy procedure was observed by the high court in Paris on 3 separate occasions between 1697 and 1704. Unfortunately his pati ents had significant morbidity and mortality, and he was denied operating p rivileges. He performed approximately 5,000 lithotomies in 30 years and die d in 1719 at age 68 years. The nursery rhyme "Frere Jacques" probably refer s to a playful group of Jacobinic monks who often overslept. We found no di rect association between Frere Jacques Beaulieu and the nursery rhyme chara cter. Conclusions: Beaulieu was an early urologist who was the first to describe the lateral approach to perineal lithotomy. Unlike other lithotomists of th e 17th century, he openly shared his surgical techniques and stimulated oth ers to refine the procedure. Regardless of the exact derivation of the nurs ery rhyme, the name Frere Jacques will always be remembered in song.