Crucial Interventions: An Illustrated Treatise on the Principles & Practice of Nineteenth-Century Surgery

The nineteenth century saw major advances in the practice of surgery. In 1750, the anatomist John Hunter described it as "a humiliating spectacle of the futility of science"; yet, over the next 150 years the feared, practical men of medicine benefited from a revolution in scientific progress and the increased availability of instructional textbooks. Anesthesia and antisepsis were introduced. Newly established medical schools improved surgeons' understanding of the human body. For the first time, surgical techniques were refined, illustrated in color, and disseminated on the printed page.

Crucial Interventions follows this evolution, drawing from magnificent examples of rare surgical textbooks from the mid-nineteenth century. Graphic and sometimes unnerving yet beautifully rendered, these fascinating illustrations, acquired from the Wellcome Collection's extensive archives, include step-by-step surgical techniques paired with depictions of medical instruments and depictions of operations in progress.

Arranged for the layman (from head to toe) Crucial Interventions is a captivating look at the early history of one of the world's most mysterious and macabre professions.

Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Published: 11/23/2015
Pages: 256
Weight: 2.1lbs
Size: 9.70h x 7.00w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780500518106


Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2016

About the Author
Barnett, Richard: -

Richard Barnett is currently the director of studies in history, Pembroke-King's Program, University of Cambridge, and honorary research fellow, UCL. His writing has appeared in The Lancet, The London Magazine, and The Natural Death Handbook. He is the author of Crucial Interventions, Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures and The Sick Rose.