Gerdy was known for contributions as a surgeon, anatomist, pathologist and physiologist. He also worked with artists and sculptors, and in 1829 published Anatomie des formes extérieures du corps humain, appliqué à la peinture, à la sculpture et à la chirurgie, a book of anatomy as it applied to sculpture, painting and surgery. His name is associated with a number of anatomical eponyms, however most of these terms have since been replaced by clinical nomenclature: