Father of surgery

Various individuals have advanced the surgical art and, as a result, have been called the father of surgery by various sources.

Suśruta (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत, lit. "well heard") was an ancient Indian physician, known as the main author of the treatise The Compendium of Suśruta (Sanskrit: Suśruta-saṃhitā) (ca. 600 BCE). The Suśruta-saṃhitā, in its extant form, in 184 chapters contains descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources. The text discusses surgical techniques of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesicolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, apposition and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetic. It enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery. Suśruta has been dubbed "the father of surgery" on account of the extraordinarily accurate and detailed accounts of surgery to be found in the work. He has also been called "the first plastic surgeon".

The Arab Muslim physician Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936-1013) wrote Al-Tasrif (The Method of Medicine), a 30-part medical encyclopedia in Arabic. In the encyclopedia, he introduced his collection of over 200 surgical instruments, many of which were never used before. Some of his works included being the first to describe and prove the hereditary pattern behind hemophilia, as well as describing ectopic pregnancy and stone babies. He has been called the "father of surgery".

The 14th century French surgeon Guy de Chauliac quoted Al-Tasrif over 200 times. Abu Al-Qasim's influence continued for at least five centuries after his death, extending into the Renaissance, evidenced by al-Tasrif's frequent reference by French surgeon Jacques Daléchamps (1513-1588).

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