Designed like a fine art book, this beautiful work by the foremost American historian of surgery represents the finest pictorial record of the history of surgery ever assembled between two covers. Writing from a surgeon' perspective, Dr. Rutkow traces the development of surgery from its crude beginnings, from a primitive craft to one of modern society's most accomplished achievements. Brief biographies of hundreds of the most famous surgeons in history are included, as are charts and timelines, to make this history as accessible as possible.

1. Prescientific and Primitive Surgery -- 2. Ancient Civilizations. Mesopotamians. Jews. Egyptians -- 3. The Classical World. Greece. Alexandria. Rome -- 4. The Byzantine Empire -- 5. Islamic and Jewish Surgery -- 6. The Far East. India. China. Japan -- 7. The Middle Ages -- 8. The Renaissance. Germany and Switzerland. Italy. Spain. France. England and Scotland -- 9. The Seventeenth Century. Germany and Switzerland. England, Scotland, and Ireland. Italy. Netherlands. France -- 10. The Eighteenth Century. France. Great Britain and Ireland. Germany and Austria. Italy. Netherlands. Denmark and Sweden. Spain. United States -- 11. The Nineteenth Century. Cellular Pathology. Experimental Physiology. Anesthesia. Bacteriology and Surgical Antisepsis and Asepsis. X Rays. Blood Transfusion. Surgical Education and Training. Surgical Nursing. Surgical Societies and Journals. Great Britain and Ireland. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland. France. Italy. Russia. Scandinavia. Netherlands. United States -- 12. The Twentieth Century. General Surgery. Colorectal Surgery. Gynecological Surgery. Neurological Surgery. Ophthalmological Surgery. Orthopedic Surgery. Otorhinolaryngological Surgery. Plastic Surgery. Thoracic Surgery. Urological Surgery.