Authors: Richard Hollingham
I was surprised when I started writing
Blood and Guts
how few books
are available on the history of surgery. There are some excellent
books on medicine, particular surgeons or episodes, but few
broader histories. If you want to find out more about a particular
era, surgeon or practice (such as lobotomy), I have listed some
suggestions below. A few of the books are out of print, but, thanks
to the wonders of the Web, are usually obtainable. Rather than give
a long list of my sources and references for this book, which would
run to a separate, sprawling and dull chapter, I thought it might be
helpful to point to some general sources of surgical history, facts
and inspiration.
I cannot recommend highly enough a visit to the Old
Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret near London Bridge
(
www.thegarret.org.uk
). Here, up a narrow winding staircase at
the top of a church, is the original operating theatre from St
Thomas' Hospital, complete with operating table and surgical
instruments from the early nineteenth century. The museum also
has displays on early medicines, bleeding and the development of
anaesthetics and antiseptics. One of my favourite exhibits is a walking
stick that a surgeon had his patients bite on during operations,
to help them cope with the pain. You can still make out the tooth
impressions.
Another fascinating museum is the Hunterian at the Royal
College of Surgeons near Lincolns Inn (
www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums
).
I have not written much about John Hunter (see Chapter 3),
but in the museum you will find an incredible collection of the
weird and wonderful. You will also see how much he achieved in
advancing our understanding of human biology.
If there is one single institution that made this book possible,
it is the Wellcome Library (on Euston Road in London). I have
spent many happy hours there, leafing through old books, papers
and journals. The library contains Robert Liston's books on
Victorian surgery and the case notes for the first anaesthetic. It
holds translations from Vesalius and Semmelweis, papers on the
first heart surgery, and even descriptions of groundhogs (see
Chapter 2). The biggest problem with the Wellcome Library is that
it is very easy to get diverted. I spent an afternoon reading graphic
case notes on early eye operations, only to realize that there was no
space for them in the book. The library is free to join and much
of it (particularly the images) is accessible online (
http://library.wellcome.ac.uk
).
The library is housed alongside the Wellcome Collection, where
you will find beautifully displayed surgical knives, cupping bowls and
an exhibition on the latest developments in biotechnology.
The book that I think gives the most complete account of
surgical history is
A History of Surgery
by Harold Ellis (Greenwich
Medical Media, 2000). Ellis is a world expert on surgical history, and
although the book was probably aimed at a medical and surgical
readership, it is clearly written and well illustrated. Unfortunately,
the book is out of print, but I understand a new edition is in the
pipeline. For a glimpse into the mind of a surgeon I recommend
Atul Gawande's thrilling and entertaining
Complications: A Surgeon's
Notes on an Imperfect Science
(Profile, 2002). In a similar vein David
Wootton's
Bad Medicine: Doctors Doing Harm since Hippocrates
(Oxford
University Press, 2006) suggests that, until relatively recently, doctors
were often doing more harm than good.
I also relied on several human physiology and anatomy textbooks.
I hope that, with their help, I have not made any glaring
errors in my anatomical explanations. The other book that proved
invaluable was my mum's nursing textbook from the 1940s,
A
Complete System of Nursing
(Temple Press, 1947) which gave useful
information on the treatment of patients and an alarming insight
into just how basic medical practice was even then (penicillin is
mentioned only briefly as it was not yet widely available, and anaesthetics
were still administered from a 'drop bottle' on to a mask).
Below are a few further reading suggestions:
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind
, Roy Porter (HarperCollins, 1997)
This substantial book covers the whole history of medicine, but is
readable throughout. Porter has written many books on medical
history, all of which are equally impressive.
Moments of Truth: Four Creators of Modern Medicine
, Thomas
Dormandy (John Wiley, 2003)
Stories about four of the people who helped shape modern medicine,
including an excellent section on Ignaz Semmelweis.
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
, Deborah Cadbury (Fourth
Estate, 2003)
Based on the BBC series of the same title, it includes a section on
John Snow, and in the chapter on the transcontinental railroad
gives an excellent account of the environment that Phineas Gage
(see Chapter 5) would have worked in.
King of Hearts
, G. Wayne Miller (Crown, 2000)
Although the writing style is sometimes a bit sentimental, this is
nonetheless a gripping biography of Walter Lillehei.
The Knife Man
, Wendy Moore (Bantam Press, 2005)
An extremely entertaining and evocative biography of John Hunter.
Transplant: From Myth to Reality
, Nicholas L. Tilney (Yale University
Press, 2003)
This is a rather skewed account of transplant surgery from a US
perspective, but it does give an insider's overview of the discipline's
development. Far better, I think, is Joseph E. Murray's
Story of the
First Human Kidney Transplant
(Mitchell Lane, 2002).
There are three superb books relevant to the chapter on plastic
surgery:
Gillies: Surgeon Extraordinary
, Reginald Pound (Michael
Joseph, 1964);
Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough,
Hugo Vickers
(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979) – a fascinating account of an
extraordinary life;
The Reconstruction of Warriors
, E.R. Mayhew
(Greenhill Books, 2004). I also recommend taking a look at
Jacqueline Saburido's website (
www.helpjacqui.com
).
An Odd Kind of Fame: Stories of Phineas Gage
, Malcolm Macmillan
(MIT Press, 2000)
This is a forensic account of Gage and the myths surrounding him. The
book is meticulously researched, but does come from an academic
perspective, so it can be a bit dry at times. However, Macmillan's
research in uncovering the story of Gage is truly impressive.
Harvey Cushing: A Life in Surgery
, Michael Bliss (OUP, 2005)
There is so much more to say about Cushing than I have been able
to, and it can be found in this well-written and accessible account of
his brilliant and complex life.
The Lobotomist
, Jack El-Hai (John Wiley, 2005)
If you read only one other book (apart from mine) on the history of
surgery, make it this one. It is superbly researched and entertainingly
written. If you want more, get a copy of
My Lobotomy
by Howard Dully
(Vermilion, 2008). It includes some of Freeman's original notes and
Dully's personal journey to try to understand why he was lobotomized.
The Terminal Man
, Michael Crichton (Arrow Books, 1972)
Although this is a work of fiction, in the light of some of the experiments
being conducted at the time, it turns out to be terrifyingly
close to reality.
Finally, if you want an insight into the, shall we say, hinterland of
medical research, I suggest taking a look at Alexis Carrel's
Man the
Unknown
(Harper & Bros, 1935) and
The Culture of Organs
(P.B. Hoeber,
1938). Likewise, José Delgado's
Physical Control of the Mind
(Harper &
Row, 1969) is worth flicking through, if only for the pictures.
Accident and Emergency (A&E)
acromegaly
Adams, Joseph
aggressive behaviour, controlling
alcohol
and hypothermia induction
as pain-reliever
Allies
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
amputation
accidental
arm
finger
hand
leg
in the Roman era
tying off of blood vessels
anaesthetic
chloroform
endotracheal intubation
ether
and plastic surgery
and wound exposure times
anatomy
16th-century ideas of
Galen's study of
ancient Greeks
Anderson, Thomas
aneurysm, aortic
animal studies
blood vessel closure
heart surgery
neurosurgery
transplant surgery
anti-coagulants
antibiotics
antibodies
antiseptic operating techniques
carbolic acid
in neurosurgery
salt solution
antisocial behaviour, controlling
aorta
aortic aneurysm
apothecaries
appointment of surgeons
Aristotle
arm
amputation
compound fractures
arrogance
arrow wounds
arteries
16th-century anatomy of
aorta
carotid
femoral
Galen on
iliac
and kidney dialysis
repairing
stemming the blood flow of
artists, Renaissance
Aryan race
Asclepius
assassinations
atomic weapons
atria
atrial septal defects
autopsies
see also
post-mortems
B cells
barbers
Barnard, Christiaan
Barnum's American Museum
basal ganglia
battlefields
see also
field hospitals; war wounds
Bavolek, Cecelia
BBC
see
British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC4
Beatrice, Princess
beauty, classical
bedlinen
Bellevue Hospital, New York
Bennett, A. Hughes
Bigelow, Henry
Bigelow, Henry Jacob
Bigelow, Wilfred Bill
Billroth, Theodor
black bile
Black Gang
bleeding to death
blood
circulation
clots
draining
Galen on
and heart-lung machines
William Harvey on
blood flow control
in heart surgery
in neurosurgery
without blood vessel damage
blood groups, AB negative
blood poisoning
blood pressure, high
blood transfusions
blood vessels
re-attachment
repairing
tying off
see also
arteries; veins
bloodletting
'cupping' technique
with leeches
scarifiers
bodysnatching
Bologna, Italy
bone nippers
bones
see
skeletons
Borel, Jean
Boschetti, Count Paolo Emilio
Boston Medical and Surgical Journal
'botched' operations
brain
activity
basal ganglia
dissection
donation to science
dura
electronic implants
frontal lobes
functional map of the
Galen's study of the
meninges
motor cortex
oxygen demands
'switching off'
see also
neurosurgery
brain damage
and personality change
brain tumours
brainwashing
breast cancer
breasts, male
Breindenbach, Warren
Britain, battle of
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
see also
BBC4
British Medical Journal
bull-fighting
bullets
burns
Butler, Peter
Calne, Roy
Campbell, Gilbert
Canadian prairie, nr Toronto
cancer
breast
carbolic acid
cardiac surgery
see
heart surgery
Carlisle
Carnot, Sadi
carotid artery
Carrel, Alexis
Carstairs, Jane
Carter, Stuart
catgut sutures
cats
cauterizing
see also
electrocautery devices
cauterizing irons
cemeteries, bodysnatching from
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Chicago
childbed (puerperal) fever
childbirth
children
lobotomised
chin operations
Chinese surgeons
chloride of lime
chloroform
dosage
fatalities
cholera
Church
Churchill, Frederick
Churchill, Winston
circulation
Clark, Sophie
cochlea implants
Columbus, Christopher
Conolly, Martin
convulsions
see also
fits; seizures
cooling bodies
Córdoba, Spain
Crichton, Michael
Crimean War
criminals
dissection
harvesting the organs of
skeletons
cross-circulation operations
'crow's beak' device
crush injuries
'cupping' technique
Cushing, Harvey
Cushing Tumour Registry
cyclosporine A
D-Day
Darwin, Charles
Deacon, Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough
death sentence
Delgado, José
Demikhov, V.P.
dentistry
Department of Health
dermatomes
Detroit riots
Devlin, Joe
DeWall, Dick
diabetes
digestive system
Dillon, Laura Maude (later Michael)
Dillon, Sir Robert
Dinoire, Isabelle
disease
see also
infection
dissection, human
brain
public
see also
autopsies; post-mortems
dog attacks
dog studies
'dressers' (assistant surgeons)
dressings
antiseptic
drink-driving
drugs
psychotropic
see also
immunosuppressive drugs
Dubost, Charles
Dully, Howard
Dully, Lou
dura (brain membrane)
duration of surgery
ears
Edinburgh
Edinburgh University
Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon
electric scalpels
electrocardiograph (ECG)
electrocautery devices
electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT)
electroencephalograph (EEG)
electromagnets
electronic implants, brain
Elizabeth, Queen Mother
emotions
induction through brain implants
neurological basis
endotracheal intubation
enemas
England
English Channel
epilepsy
Ervin, Frank
ether
flammability
eugenics
euthanasia
Evans, Martin A.
explosives
face transplants
false teeth
fear
femoral artery
fever
field hospitals
see also
battlefields; war wounds
Fifteenth Thoracic Centre
First World War
fits
see also
convulsions; seizures
Flanagan and Allen
Flavell, J.M.
fluoroscopy
forceps
Ford, Henry
four humours
Foxley, Bill
fractures, compound
arm
infection
leg
France
François I
Freeman, Walter
French Resistance
French surgeons
frock coats
frontal lobes
frostbite
Gage, Phineas
Galen
Galenic medicine
gangrene
Gardener, Bill
gas attacks
George Washington University Hospital, Washington DC
Gibbon, John H. Jr
Gillies, Sir Harold
gladiators
Glasgow
Glastonbury, Somerset
Godlee, Rickman
gonorrhoea
Great Northern Railway
great saphenous vein
Greco, Vic
Greener, Hannah
Greenlees, James
Grenfell, Joyce
Grey Turner, George
Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town
groundhogs
growths
guillotine
Guinea Pig Club
gunpowder
Guthrie, Charles
Guy's Hospital, London
Hadlow, Janice
haemoglobin
haemorrhage
see also
bleeding to death; blood flow control
Hakim, Nadey
Hall, John
Hallam, Clint
Halsted, William
Hammatt, Alice
Hammersmith Hospital, London
hands
burns
transplants
hanged men
Hardy, James
Hariz, Marwan
Harken, Major Dwight
Harlow, John
Harrison, J. Hartwell
Harvard Medical School
Harvey, William
head injury
headaches
heart
16th-century anatomy of
atria
hole in the
normal
pericardium
ventricles
heart attack
sudden
heart surgery
animal-lung methods
closed-heart
cooling bodies for
cross-circulation operations
heart transplants
and heart-lung machines
open-heart
and stopping the heart
timing issues
heart valves
artificial
defects
heart-blocks
heart-lung machines
Lillehei-DeWall bubble oxygenator
Heath, Robert
Hebra, Professor
Henderson
heparin
Herrick, Richard
Herrick, Ronald
Herskowitz, Ida
hibernation
Hibernin
high blood pressure
Hill, Dr (brother of Luther)
Hill, Luther Leonidas
Hindu tradition
Hippocrates
Hitler, Adolf
Holtz, Howard
homosexuality
Hospital for Epilepsy and Paralysis, London
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
hospitalism
humours
Hunter, John
Hurricanes
Hutchinson, Ian
Hyde, Jonathan
hygiene
see also
antiseptic operating techniques
hypnotism
hypospadias
hypothermia
icepick lobotomies
immortality
immune system
radioactive suppression
tissue typing
and transplant surgery
immunosuppressive drugs
cyclosporine A
in transplant surgery
India
Indian medical practice
infection, hospital
inferior vena cava
Inquisition
Institut de Beauté, Paris
insulin
intensive care units
International Business Machine Corporation (IBM)
intestines
Ionesco, Ellen
Japan
Jewish Hospital, Louisville
John Radcliffe Hospital
Johnson, Jacqueline
Journal of the American Medical Association
Kantrowitz, Adrian
Keats, John
Kennedy, Joe
Kennedy, John F.
Kennedy, Rosemary
Kent, Duchess of
kidney dialysis
kidney (renal) failure
kidney transplants
kidneys
Kirklin, John W.
knee pain
knives, surgical
Kolff, Willem
Kolle, Frederick
Kolletschka, Jakob
Kostakis, Alkis
Lancaster bombers
Lancet
(journal)
Las Vegas
Laughlin, Henry
leeches
leg
amputation
compound fractures
Leonardo da Vinci
Leopold, Prince
Leroudier, Madame
leucotome
leucotomy
Lewis, F. John
ligatures
Lillehei, Walter
Lillehei-DeWall bubble oxygenator
Lindbergh, Charles A.
Lindbergh pump
Lister, Joseph
Listeria
Listerine mouthwash
Listerism
Liston, Robert
liver transplants
lobotomy
conscious
transorbital
Loman, Gladys
London
Longmore, Donald
Los Altos, California
Louisville, Kentucky
Louvain, Flanders
Lower-Austrian Mental Home
Lucas, William
Lumley, Second Lieutenant Henry
lung
transplants
lymphatic system
lymphocytes
B cells
T cells
Lyon
Macfee, Mr
Magill, Ivan
Marcus Aurelius
Mark, Vernon
Marlborough, 9th Duke of
Marlborough, Gladys, Duchess of
Marston, Robert
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
mastectomy
Mayo Clinic, Rochester
McBirnie, John
McCreadie, Rory
McIndoe, Archibald
Medical Mavericks
(TV series)
medicine
Meggison, Thomas
melancholy
Melrose, Denis
meninges
meningitis
mental health problems
mesmerism
metabolism, slowing of
Metrazol
miasma
micro-organisms
microsurgery
midwives
Miller, Bernard
Miller, Glenn
Minneapolis
mitral stenosis
mitral valve
Moniz, Egas
monkey studies
Montgomery, Alabama
mortality rates
200 per cent
300 per cent
from bloodletting
from childbed fever
from chloroform use
from heart surgery