[en] This thesis is devoted to the study of very neutron deficient nuclei in the lead region of the nuclear chart and more precisely to the investigation of the single particle states and collective properties of the ^187,189Bi isotopes by gamma-ray spectroscopy. These nuclei were produced via fusion-evaporation reaction induced by a krypton beam on a silver target. In this mass region, the cross section for producing these nuclei are very low, of the order of a few micro-barns, making experimental studies very difficult. The identification of the nuclei was done using the very powerful RDT (Recoil Decay Tagging) technique, based on the selection of the isotopes through their characteristic alpha-particle decays. The experiments were performed at the university of Jyvdskyla (Finland) with the facility combining the gamma-ray spectrometer JUROSPHERE and the magnetic gas-filled separator RITU. Isomeric states were observed in both nuclei and their life-times measured. The systematics of individual proton states in odd-mass bismuth isotopes have been reproduced with a shell model up to 20 neutrons away from the valley of stability. Furthermore, rotational bands, a signature of collective nuclear motion, have been established for the first time in these nuclei. The interpretation of these results led to the conclusion that ^187,189Bi have a prolate shape at low excitation energy, unlike the heavier bismuth isotopes which have been interpreted to have oblate deformation, implying a shape transition in this mass region. Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov calculations are consistent with the experimental indication of shape coexistence, as seen in the neighbouring even-even lead nuclei. (author)