The history of surgical research

Abstract

There are different options available for classifying the history of surgical research by social and cultural eras. A simple classification divides surgical research history into two periods: the first spans the centuries from Antiquity to the Early Modern and the second from the Early Modern to the present. The first operations were trepanations. In the ancient world, research activity that can be considered surgical rather than just anatomical may be attributed to Galen of Pergamon. Throughout the Middle Ages the Church impeded surgical research by opposing any manipulation of a dead body. During the Renaissance research flourished. To date, only nine research surgeons have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Many eminent research surgeons, despite lives spent pursuing experimentation and making contributions to medicine, have not been honored with such recognition.