 He studied at the Jesuit college in Albi followed by Toulouse and then attended the medical faculty in Montpellier between 1762 and 1765.In 1766, Portal moved to Paris where he became a teacher of anatomy to the dauphin.In 1769 he became professor of anatomy at the Collège de France and in 1778 was appointed to the prestigious position of professor of anatomy at the Jardin du Roi.