John Hunter was legally allowed to dissect bodies from the gallows in the 18th century
Anatomists and surgeons like Hunter would pay grave robbers to find fresh corpses for dissection
Hunter relied on careful observations of his patients and was willing to try radical approaches
In 1767, there was a huge debate on whether gonorrhoea and syphilis were the same diseases
Hunter injected himself with gonorrhoea pus to study the side effects and find a cure, but the patient also had syphilis
Hunter died in 1793 from syphilitic heart disease at the age of 65
Before Hunter, aneurysms were treated by amputating above the lump
Hunter believed in cutting off the blood source feeding the lump instead of amputating, tying off the artery and allowing other blood vessels to form and bypass the area
Hunter successfully tested his method on animals and his first human patient, who kept his leg
John Hunter was important for medicine because he showed that gunshot wounds should be treated like any other wound and that amputation was not necessary
Hunter's work on aneurysms demonstrated that restricting blood supply could lead to the growth of vessels around the aneurysm, causing it to die
Hunter's book provided theoretical knowledge about anatomy that was essential for every surgeon
Hunter's work was important in later years as he established teaching museums for future generations and influenced the ideas of other medical professionals like Jenner
Hunter's work laid the foundation for 'scientific surgery' with an experimental basis for surgical practice
Two reasons John Hunter was important for surgery:
Pioneered the scientific method in surgery
Emphasized the importance of observation and experimentation in surgery
Vesalius:
Vesalius proved Galen wrong by dissecting human bodies
He proved Galen was wrong about the way the heart worked, shape of the liver, location of the kidneys and human jaw having 2 bones
Wrote incredibly accurate and detailed books 'Tabulae Sex' (1538) and 'The Fabric of the Human Body' (1543)
Ended the reign of Galen as the greatest anatomist and paved the way for others to challenge Galen
His books transformed understanding of human anatomy to a point where they are still useful today
A man called Geminus developed Vesalius’ work further in Britain
Factors that helped: Key Individuals, Communication (the printing press), Science and Technology (The printing press), Religion (declining power made it less likely that challengers of Galen would be executed)
Harvey:
In 1628 he proved Galen wrong by stating that the heart was a pump and blood flowed around the body
Proved that blood could last for up to 12 weeks
Said that veins and arteries carried blood around the body and suggested the existence of capillaries, although he couldn't see them due to weak microscopes
His work was vital in the first heart transplant and the work of Christiaan Barnard
Factors that helped: Individual Brilliance, Science and Technology
Pare:
Pare was an army surgeon who ran out of boiling oil used for cauterizing gunshot wounds
Instead, he used a Roman remedy of rose water, turpentine, and egg yolk, finding that soldiers treated this way were healthier and in less pain compared to those cauterized
Inspired him to stop cauterizing wounds and develop alternatives like ligatures to stitch wounds and blood vessels, although infection remained an issue and ligatures weren't sterile
Pare's books were used for 350 years in surgery
Developed surgical tools still in use today
A man called Clowes developed Pare’s work in Britain
Factors that helped: War, Chance, Individual Brilliance