MD Training in Medical Semiology in the Museum: The Example of the Museum of Fine Arts of Bourg-en-Bresse, France.

Dermatology is a visually oriented specialty in which diagnosis relies heavily on the recognition and interpretation of morphologic features. Fine arts museums may provide complementary educational environments for developing structured visual semiology. We have explored the potential of artworks as educational tools for dermatologic and medical visual semiology, using selected works from the Museum of Fine Arts of Bourg-en-Bresse, France. The permanent collection was examined for figurative artworks displaying recognizable dermatologic or medical signs. Selected paintings and sculptures were analyzed using a structured iconodiagnosis approach including morphologic description, anatomic localization, artistic medium, historic context, and level of diagnostic evidence. Four artworks displaying probable dermatologic or medical signs were identified. Probable dermal nevi were observed in three works, including two representations of Marc-Antoine Puvis in different media, showing concordant morphology and anatomic location. A probable dermal nevus and a possible Frank's sign were also identified on a marble bust of Charles-Philippe Robin. All observations were classified as level II evidence because no independent historical or medical documentation confirmed the suspected lesions. These artworks may function as "pictorial patients," allowing learners to practice structured observation, morphologic description, diagnostic hypothesis generation, and assessment of uncertainty. Repeated representations of the same individual may also help distinguish reproducible anatomic features from artistic conventions. Fine arts museums, including regional and local institutions, may represent valuable complementary environments for training dermatologic visual semiology. Portraits, figurative paintings, and sculptures may contain numerous unexplored pictorial patients, and collaboration between dermatologists, medical educators, art historians, and museum professionals could help to transform museum collections into accessible resources for innovative visual training in dermatology.