Medical Theory, Surgical Practice

Medical Theory, Surgical Practice
Author: Christopher Lawrence
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2018-12-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0429670710

Originally published in 1992, Medical Theory, Surgical Practice examines medical and surgical concepts of disease and their relation to the practice of surgery, in particular historical settings. It emphasises that understanding concepts of disease does not just include recounting explicit accounts of disease given by medical men. It needs an analysis of the social relations embedded in such concepts. In doing this, the contributors illustrate how surgery rose from a relatively humble place in seventeenth century life to being seen as one of the great achievements of late Victorian culture. They examine how medical theory and surgical practices relate to social contexts, how physical diagnosis entered medicine and whether anaesthesia and Lister’s antiseptic techniques really did cause a revolution in surgical practice.

Surgical Revolutions

Surgical Revolutions
Author: Luis H. Toledo-Pereyra
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2011
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9814329622

Many surgical revolutions distinguish the history and evolution of surgery. Some are small, others more dominant, but each revolution improves the art and science of surgery. Surgical revolutionaries are indispensable in the conception and completion of any surgical revolution, initiating scientific and technological advances that propel surgical practice forward. Surgical revolutionaries can come in the guises of Lister (antisepsis), Halsted (surgical residency and safe surgery), Cushing (safe brain surgery), Wangensteen (gastrointestinal physiological surgery), Blalock (relief of cyanotic heart disease), Lillehei (open heart surgery), and many others. With the hindsight of history, we can recognize patterns of progress, evaluate means of advancing new ideas, and solidify details of innovative behavior that could lead to new surgical revolutions. This volume examines the following vital questions in detail: What is a surgical revolution and how do we recognize one? Are surgical revolutionaries different? Is there a way to educate new surgical revolutionaries? Can history provide enduring examples of surgical revolutions? Are there different kinds of surgical revolutions? What characterizes a surgical revolution in the context of science and technology? What surgical revolutions are on the horizon?