Bichat standing with cadaver on table behind him. Marie Fran癟ois Xavier Bichat (1771-1802), French anatomist and physiologist. Bichat is best remembered as the father of modern histology and pathology. Despite the fact that he worked without a microscope he was able to advance greatly the understanding of the human body. He was the first to introduce the notion of tissues as distinct entities. He maintained that diseases attacked tissues rather than whole organs.