In 1867 he earned his medical doctorate at Paris, where he was a student of Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers (1808–1872) and Auguste Nélaton (1807–1873).

In 1892 he performed the first craniectomy for craniosynostosis, an operation that involved correction of a sagittal synostosis.

He is also credited for introducing a method of treatment for synovial tuberculosis through the use of chloride of zinc injections.

This award is issued every five years by the Académie nationale de chirurgie (National Academy of Surgery).

During his medical career, Lannelongue had several famous persons as patients, such as Léon Gambetta, Sarah Bernhardt and Félix Faure.