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The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Surgery pp 1–24Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Introduction: What Is Special About the History of Surgery?

Abstract

This introductory chapter discusses what is special about the history of surgery, as compared to the history of medicine in general. It includes a definition of surgery from a historical point of view and a discussion of the extent to which surgical approaches are specific to the West and to the modern period. It looks at how historians have been dealing with the historical specificity of surgery, its origins and development, and how it is represented in the chapters of the handbook, drawing the threads of the different chapters together and situating their topics in the historiography of surgery more generally.

Keywords

  • Thomas Schlich
  • Mortal Lessons
  • Modern Surgery
  • Michael McVaugh
  • Western Medical Tradition

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Further Reading

  • Lawrence, Christopher (ed.). Medical Theory: Surgical Practice. London: Routledge, 1992.

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  • Lawrence, Ghislaine. ‘Surgery (Traditional)’. In William F. Bynum and Roy Porter (eds), Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine, vol. 2. London: Routledge, 1993, 961–983.

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  • McVaugh, Michael. ‘Therapeutic Strategies: Surgery’. In Mirko D. Grmek (ed.), Western Thought from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998, 273–290.

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  • Schlich, Thomas, and Christopher Crenner (eds). Technological Change in Modern Surgery: Historical Perspectives on Innovation. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2017.

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  • Siraisi, Nancy G. Medieval and Early Modern Renaissance Medicine: An Introduction of Knowledge and Practice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

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  • Tröhler, Ulrich. ‘Surgery (Modern)’. In William F. Bynum and Roy Porter (eds) Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine, vol. 2. London: Routledge, 1993, 984–1028.

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  • Wangensteen, Owen H., and Sarah D. Wangensteen. The Rise of Surgery: From Empiric Craft to Scientific Discipline. Folkstone: Kent Dawson, 1978.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Thomas Schlich

Authors
  1. Thomas Schlich
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Correspondence to Thomas Schlich .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Studies of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Thomas Schlich

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© 2018 The Author(s)

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Schlich, T. (2018). Introduction: What Is Special About the History of Surgery?. In: Schlich, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Surgery. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95260-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95260-1_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95259-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95260-1

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