He became interested in zoology and worked at the laboratory at the École des Hautes-Études where he became a histological preparator for Charles Robin and Georges Pouchet, the latter influencing him towards studies on experimental teratology (inducing mutations and malformations).

He travelled around Europe in 1877 with a grant from the Paris City Council, studying embryology in Vienna and comparative anatomy in Bonn.

He wrote a dissertation on anesthesia induced by nitrous oxide in 1880 under Paul Bert and received a medical degree.

[1]In 1889 he served as the secretary general for the 1st International Congress of Zoology in Paris alongside the Universal Exhibition.

Towards the end of his life he studied medical works from the Middle Ages including stone inscriptions.