Do an annotated bibliography for the attached 3 sources.
How medicine affected surgery in American History? (1865-1910)
19th century is considered as the ‘birth era of surgery’ in history because it was marked
by many firsts in the field of surgery and all of this was possible due to advances in knowledge
of medicine (Jennifer). The use of anesthesia in 1846 and later on, the advent of antisepsis in
1867, greatly revolutionized the craft of surgery, achieving those feats that previously seemed
impossible in surgical operations (Camison et al.).
Considering American history, in year 1846, first public use of ether as anesthesia
was reported in a surgery that involved removing a neck tumor at the Massachusetts General
Hospital. This was a breakthrough in medical history that opened ways for surgeons to
perform complicated surgical procedures in coming years. In1885, first successful attempt
was made to perform appendectomy (removal of appendix) in Iowa, U.S.A. (Jennifer).
With British surgeon John Lister publishing Antiseptic Principle in the practice of
Surgery in 1867, a new gateway had been opened for surgeons in Europe and America to
perform surgeries by greatly minimizing the risk of infections. In the year 1893, first successful
heart surgery was done at Provident Hospital, Chicago to repair a defect in pericardium of
patient’s heart (Jennifer).
The civil war (1861-1865), in fact, proved to be a hands on surgical training for
American surgeons with mass casualties at hand. Use of anesthesia in surgical procedures not
only improved the speed of operation but also brought more precision in their technique. It
won’t be wrong to say that civil war left America with a core of experienced surgeons who
greatly contributed to the American Medical Literature. The antiseptic techniques profoundly
improved the diagnosis and prevention of infectious diseases as well curbed the spread of
infection in surgical wounds. (Camison et al.).
During the second half of the century, blood transfusion techniques and discovery of
X-rays, formal nursing education, and advances in experimental physiology further augmented
the surgical procedures (qtd. in Camison et al.). The restriction on cadaveric anatomical studies
were removed and this helped the surgeons to perform dissection on unclaimed bodies.
Massachusetts was the first American state to enact laws in 1830 and 1833 to allow anatomical
dissections on bodies of people who died in public hospitals or asylums (qtd. in Ghosh). Many
other states introduced similar laws in following decades (Ghosh). Anatomical dissections lead
to better understanding of human organs, paving way for complicated surgeries and organ
transplantation.
References
Jennifer Whitlock, “The Historical Timeline of Surgery.” Very well Health, Apr. 2020,
www.verywellhealth.com/the-history-of-surgery-timeline-3157332.
Camison, Liliana, et al. “The History of Surgical Education in the United States: Past,
Present, and Future.” Annals of Surgery Open, vol. 3, no. 1, Wolters Kluwer, Mar. 2022, p.
e148. https://doi.org/10.1097/as9.0000000000000148.
Ghosh, Sanjib Kumar. “Human Cadaveric Dissection: A Historical Account from Ancient
Greece to the Modern Era.” Anatomy & Cell Biology, vol. 48, no. 3, Jan. 2015, p. 153.
https://doi.org/10.5115/acb.2015.48.3.153.
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