The Basics of SurgerySurgery has developed significantly from its history into today's wide array of surgical procedures By Adrian M. [website] from Raleigh, NC on January 23, 2006 Category: Surgeries The Basics of Surgery Frequently we hear about friends or family needing to undergo surgery, or “going under the knife,” to treat a disease or disorder. The process of surgery is a specialty procedure in medicine. It is a completely manual practice that has been augmented to some extent in recent times by the use of lasers and computer-guided equipment. Medical practitioners who are able and allowed to perform surgery are called surgeons. Surgery is a separate medical field altogether. Physicians may not be allowed to perform in the capacity of a surgeon, and vice versa. A Short History of Surgery The first surgical procedure ever conceived is trepanation, an operation involving (probably very painful) drilling or scraping of a hole in the skull, just barely touching the brain itself. Researchers believe this operation was supposed to alleviate pressure from within the cranium (skull), which causes a number of health problems. Evidence of this operation dates back to approximately 7000 BC. This operation has been largely abandoned and replaced with safer, more efficient methods. In ancient Egyptian sites, there is evidence that dental surgery was already in place at the time, probably around 2750 BC. A jawbone was actually found, and it had small cuts or incisions below the molar area, probably done to drain the pus from an abscessed tooth. From approximately the same period, other evidence points to an early form of brain surgery being performed on a laborer. Analysis of the evidence indicates that the patient did not die afterwards, but lived for a few years more. At around 1600 BC, the Edwin Smith papyrus was written. It's the world's earliest known medical journal. Some of its contents are even conjectured to be from much earlier. The ancient document was purchased by a researcher of Egyptian history named Edwin Smith somewhere in Egypt in 1862. It was translated by 1930 and from this said translation, it is concluded that it is in fact an ancient textbook on trauma surgery. The texts contain extremely detailed descriptions of various injuries and ways to treat them. The document contains the first ever written descriptions of the internals of the human brain, as well as accurate descriptions of internal organs. The level of advancement in this document, considering the time period it was written in, is astounding. At around 400 BC, an Indian named Susrutha started to practice his art of surgery in India, on the banks of the river Ganges. Because of his writings about and contributions to the science and art of surgery, he is known today as the “Father of Surgery.” In the 13th century, a surgeon named Rogerius, from the town of Salerno, Italy, wrote a treatise on medicine and surgery entitled Practica Chirurgiae (“The Practice of Surgery”). This work became the most important journal in its field and laid the foundation for all modern surgical manuals. Come the 1800s, the field of surgery improved with the discovery of early types of anaesthetics. These allowed longer, more complicated procedures, including procedures that were performed internally. Finally, in the late 19th century, the concept of sterile surgery gained widespread acceptance. Modern Surgery Today, surgery is a broad term that encompasses a multitude of types of surgical procedures. The following is a list of disorders that usually require surgery:
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