Surgeon

A surgeon is a doctor who has been educated and trained in the diagnosis, preoperative, operative, and postoperative management of patient care.http://www.surgerychannel.com/general-surgeon/what-is-a-general-surgeon.html Abul Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas al-Zahrawi or Albucalsis (993-1064) is the world's first recorded surgeon. He operated on shoulder dislocation, closing arteries, dental work, ectopic pregnancies and inspection of the uterus, ear and throat.http://www.slucare.edu/pdf_nov5/history_surgery.pdf Phycisians such as Hippocrates and Galen practiced medicine and surgery but since operating on internal organs was risky due to infection, it was a last resort.http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/surgery.aspx Guy de Chauliac (1298-1368) was the most eminent surgeon of his time because he improved the art of surgery by adding guidelines and insisting participants learn more about the human body. He wrote Chirurgia Magna (Great Surgery) which was a standard text for surgeons. http://books.google.com/books?id=vPpvlIrVSMkC&pg=PA8&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

Surgeries had not advanced by the 1500s and the practice was not well thought of so it had been left to priests. People believed evil spirits made them sick so the priests would administer leeches, amulets, herbs and prayer. The church stopped the practice of letting priests use leeches for bloodletting in the 1100s. Thereafter, barbers performed many functions besides hair cutting. They pulled teeth, performed minor surgery on wounds, amputations and administered leeches up until the 1500s. As surgery advanced, the barbers became more educated like doctors.http://www.cardiologytoday.com/view.aspx?rid=31588 Women could not become physicians but surgery, considered a lesser profession, was open to them.

Surgeons did not go to university to study, but were apprenticed to practicing surgeons to learn through observation. This lasted until the 1700s when surgeons began to get trained at universities. Women were not allowed there.http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/surgery.aspx However with no pain control and the risk of infection, surgery was dangerous and many people died on the operating table http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/surgery.aspx During the 1800s, chloroform and ether were used to make patients unconscious so surgeons could begin to operate internally. The development of killing all known germs was called antisepsis. It was followed in the 1900s by asepsis, which prevented any bacteria from coming into contact with the wound. By the 1940s the development of penicillin, blood transfusion, the use of bandages and antibiotics made surgeries much safer.http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/surgery.aspx

Surgeons may specialize in one of the 14 areas:

• cardiothoracic
• general surgery
• gynecologic oncology
• ophthalmic (eye)
• orthopaedic
• pediatric
• urology
• colon and rectal
• gynecology and obstetrics
• neurological
• oral and maxillofacial (jaws and face)
• otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat)
• plastic and maxillofacial
• vascular