Dr Bonain, an ENT surgeon with an ocean background

Bonain's liquid, otherwise known as Bonain's mixture or Bonain's solution, is universally known and still in use. How many medicines can say the same after a hundred years? By contrast, Jules Aristide Bonain, a physician from Brittany, remains unknown. We pay a tribute to him in this paper, describing the origins of the famous solution, as well as Bonain's role in the treatment of diphtheria and his surprising early career as a naval surgeon, which led him to participate in France's colonial adventure at the turn of the 20th century.