[1][2] In the 18th century, surgery was increasingly recognized as a specialized discipline in the medical sciences, while previously surgeons had often been confused with barbers.

The ground floor housed a rectangular theatre for the instruction of midwives, a chemistry lab, a public hall, a room reserved for students in training for the army, and a small hospital.

Gondoin wrote about the building that it "a monument of the beneficence of the King...which should have the character of magnificence relative to its function; a school whose fame attracts a great concourse of Pupils from all nations should appear open and easy of access.

Above the main entry arch, lying between the entablature and the upper cornice on the street façade is an Ionic relief panel, designed by Pierre-François Berruer.

The relief panel depicts the muse of architecture giving a scroll of the building plan to the god of medicine.

[3]: 141 A new wing was built on the rear of Gondoin's building, bordering the Boulevard Saint-Germain with a monumental façade designed by architect Léon Ginain and constructed between 1879 and 1900.

It hosted the central offices of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, including a ceremonial assembly room, a large library, a museum, and archival space.

The figure on the left is generally referred to as representing Medicine, even though the attribute she holds in her right hand is a mirror and snake, traditionally associated with Prudentia, and not a caduceus as occasionally described.