Pierre François Olive Rayer (8 March 1793 – 10 September 1867) was a French physician who was a native of Saint Sylvain. He made important contributions in the fields of pathological anatomy, physiology, comparative pathology and parasitology.
In 1837 Rayer discovered that the fatal equine disease known as glanders was contagious to other species, including humans. Between 1837 and 1841 he published a three-volume book on diseases of the kidney titled Traité des maladies des reins. In 1850 Rayer published a paper that provided the first description of the anthrax bacillus (Inoculation du sang de rate, 1850).[2] In this work he documented studies that he performed with physician Casimir Davaine (1812-1882) in regards to Bacillus anthracis.[3] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1855.[4]
^Pierre François Olive Rayer (1850) “Inoculation du sang de rate”, Comptes rendus des séances et mémoires de la Société de biologie, vol. 2, pages 141-144.