The Commission of the Royal Society of Medicine was composed of Poissonnier, Caille, Mauduyt de la Varenne, Andry, and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. The commission of the Academy of Sciences included Majault, Benjamin Franklin, Jean Sylvain Bailly, Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, Sallin, Jean Darcet, de Borey, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, and Antoine Lavoisier.

In 1784 two French Royal Commissions appointed by Louis XVI studied Mesmer's magnetic fluid theory to try to establish it by scientific evidence. Main article: Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism

He never spoke of the phenomena which have rehabilitated our cause among scientific men and since nothing remains to be attributed to Mesmer, either in the practice and theory, or the discoveries that constitute our science, why should it be called mesmerism? Royal Commission He proposed for it a theory which is now exploded, and which, on account of his errors, has been fatal to our progress. Mesmerism, of all the names proposed, is decidedly the most improper for, in the first place, no true science has ever been designated by the name of a man, whatever be the claims he could urge in his favor and secondly, what are the claims of Mesmer for such an honor? He is not the inventor of the practical part of the science, since we can trace the practice of it through the most remote ages and in that respect, the part which he introduced has been completely abandoned. Noting that, by 1846, the term ' galvanism' had been replaced by 'electricity', Léger wrote that year:

One of his pupils was Théodore Léger (1799–1853), who wrote that the label 'mesmerism' was 'most improper'. Many practitioners took a scientific approach, such as Joseph Philippe François Deleuze (1753–1835), a French physician, anatomist, gynecologist, and physicist. Reported effects included various feelings: intense heat, trembling, trances, and seizures. At the time, some magnetizers attempted to channel what they thought was a magnetic 'fluid', and sometimes they attempted this with a ' laying on of hands'. 'Mesmerism' Ī tendency emerged amongst British magnetizers to call their clinical techniques 'mesmerism' they wanted to distance themselves from the theoretical orientation of animal magnetism that was based on the concept of 'magnetic fluid'. This sense of the term is found, for example, in the expression of Antoine Joseph Gorsas: 'The magnetizer is the imam of vital energy'. The term refers to an individual who has the power to manipulate the 'magnetic fluid' with effects upon other people present that were regarded as analogous to magnetic effects. The etymology of the word magnetizer comes from the French ' magnétiseur' ('practicing the methods of mesmerism'), which in turn is derived from the French verb magnétiser. These terms have been distinguished from 'mesmerist' and 'magnetist', which are regarded as denoting those who study animal magnetism without being practitioners and from 'hypnotist', someone who practises hypnosis. The terms 'magnetizer' and 'mesmerizer' have been applied to people who study and practice animal magnetism. Hundreds of books were written on the subject between 17, but it is no longer practiced today except as a form of alternative medicine in some places. It had an important influence in medicine for about 75 years from its beginnings in 1779, and continued to have some influence for another 50 years. Practitioners were often known as magnetizers rather than mesmerists. The vitalist theory attracted numerous followers in Europe and the United States and was popular into the 19th century. He claimed that the force could have physical effects, including healing. It posits the existence of an invisible natural force ( Lebensmagnetismus) possessed by all living things, including humans, animals, and vegetables. Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, is a theory invented by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century.

Franz mesmer images