SURGERY ACROSS THE AGES

Author: Ivan Balev

History of medicine, in a sense that part of it concerning surgical knowledge, makes a valuable contribution to the treasury of health sciences. It is a wellspring to a number of precepts - stimulating and developing the wellbeing, sanity, happiness of mankind. But to make a real estimate for the growth of modern surgeries, consequently, it is necessary to follow their timeposts and beginning in the early antiquity. Looking through the pages of human history, we see strings of events while man - a priory humble in his restricted material and spiritual strength - now, unleashes his potential in the galaxies. Today, he is proud to say: "I did it and I did it right, to conquer the leaving and dead nature".

Surgery, how beautiful a synthesis between art and science, trespassed a multitude of stages from the human culture and truly reflected the position of medicine in time. Cognitive upsurge in man developed slowly and irregularly, but nevertheless, he mastered to be a lord for a daring self. And, always, a spiritual face of his influence has been a pattern from his nervous system. Further, come religious-philosophical-cultural-omnibus outlooks which, being reliable from one epoch to another, shape finally the medical conceptions and the treatment methods.

As we look backward, huge is the historical literature dedicated to the surgical knowledge. The aim of the author has been to make a little clearance in the field and to present his effort to the bulgarian student.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Surgery across the ages

3. The age of Assyrio-Babilonia

4. The age of Old Egypt

5. The age of Israel

6. The age of Persia

7. The age of India

8. The age of China

9. The age of Japan

10. The age of Native American People

11. The age of Old Troy

12. The age of Old Greece

13. Philosophical schools in medicine

14. The Alexandria epoch

15. The supremacy of Rome

16. Eclecticism

17. Claudius Galen /131-201/

18. The decline of the Roman Empire

19. The making of Arabic culture

20. The heyday of Arabic culture

21. The early Middle Ages

22. The school of Salerno

23. Beginning of Renaissance

24. Monpelie & Paris during the 13^th century

25. Surgery during the 15^th century

26. Surgery during the 16^th century

27. Surgery during the 17^th century

28. Surgery during the 18^th century

29. Surgery during the 19^th century

30. Surgery in modern times

31. Wartime surgery

32. The spirit of history and profiles of the future

33. Epilogue

34. Literature: cf. Aschoff-Diepgen, Bartels, Buchner, Bordeu, Cumston, Castiglioni, Dupony, Daremberg, Diepgen, Leclerc, Garrison, Gurlt, Ganbery, Haesser, Honigmann, Kronfeld, Krumbacher, Malgaine, Meyer-Steing und Sudhof, Neuburger, Puschman, Petersen, Richer, Schwalbe, Sigerist, Wunderlich, Withington, Lejars, Raoul-D'arcourt, Tillmans, Kuttner, Corradi, Ullmann, Grunder, etc; Беклей, Оппел, Джаков и др.