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The story of medicine has not unfolded in a smooth, gradual manner. Rather, it is defined by pivotal events—moments where groundbreaking actions were taken that would shape the future of the medical field. Each step brings us closer to the ultimate reality of becoming immortal cyborgs, but until that time, we can look back on these remarkable milestones from our past.
10. Charles-Francois Felix Performs Surgery on The Sun King’s Anal Fistula
In 1686, King Louis XIV of France found himself in a troubling situation, plagued by severe pain in his backside. Known as 'the Sun King' due to his 72-year reign, Louis was not in the best of health, battling constant headaches, gout, periostitis, and suspected diabetes. In that year, he developed a painful anal fistula that refused to heal, despite countless enemas and poultices that were commonly used at the time.
In a rare move for a monarch of his time, Louis sought help from an unlikely source—a barber-surgeon. Physicians back then often considered surgery beneath their expertise, so barbers who were skilled with sharp instruments performed many surgical procedures. The barber-surgeon who answered the call was Charles-Francois Felix. He was given about six months to devise a method to relieve the king’s pain. After experimenting with 75 volunteers from French prisons, Felix designed two essential tools for the procedure: a spreader and a scraper.
The surgery was a success, and King Louis generously rewarded Felix with wealth and titles. Soon, having an anal fistula became all the rage in France, with many courtiers lining up to undergo the same procedure as their royal ruler. More importantly, this event also played a role in legitimizing surgery as a respected practice, encouraging physicians to view it as a viable treatment option.
9. Ambroise Pare Faces a Shortage of Oil
Ambroise Pare, one of the most renowned barber-surgeons in history, served four French monarchs during the 16th century. Before his royal service, he made his mark in battlefield medicine. At that time, pain wasn’t a major concern for medical practitioners, who often viewed it as part of a 'live or die' situation. Most medical procedures were agonizing, and it wasn’t uncommon for patients to faint from the excruciating pain mid-operation.
Cauterization, a highly painful yet crucial procedure, involved sealing gunshot wounds with boiling oil. However, survival chances were slim. In 1536, during the Italian War, Pare, serving as a military surgeon, ran out of boiling oil to treat the injured. He resorted to creating a tincture of rose oil, egg yolks, and turpentine, not expecting much success. To his surprise, the soldiers treated with this concoction were in significantly better condition the following day.
Pare revolutionized medical practices by demonstrating that there were less painful alternatives to cauterization. He further advanced surgical techniques by popularizing the use of ligatures in amputations. Pare also made his ideas more accessible by publishing them in French, instead of Latin, so that less-educated barber-surgeons could understand his work.
8. Andreas Vesalius’s Dissections
Claudius Galenus, or Galen, was a prominent figure in ancient Greece, renowned for his work as a physician and surgeon. His medical contributions rival those of Hippocrates. Galen's profound understanding of the human body stemmed largely from animal dissections. However, being in the second century, many of Galen's theories were flawed.
Galen’s views were so influential that they went unchallenged for centuries. It wasn’t until the 16th century that Dutch anatomist Andreas Vesalius published a groundbreaking work. In 1543, Vesalius released On the Fabric of the Human Body, which demonstrated that Galen had been mistaken on several anatomical points. Vesalius’s observations, based on his own dissections of human bodies, emphasized the importance of hands-on study in medicine.
Vesalius gained significant support for his work, including backing from Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, helping ensure the widespread influence of his book. Like Pare, Vesalius wanted his work to be as accessible as possible, which is why it featured over 200 meticulously detailed illustrations by talented artists who were present during the dissections.
7. Ephraim McDowell Performs The First Ovariotomy
Ephraim McDowell, an American physician, became internationally famous for a remarkable medical feat—though he may be even more widely recognized for a different case, the removal of bladder stones from a 17-year-old James Polk, who would later become the president of the United States.
On December 13, 1809, McDowell was called to examine Jane Todd Crawford, a woman whom her local doctor believed to be pregnant well beyond her due date. Upon assessing her, McDowell quickly determined that she had a large ovarian tumor. He informed Mrs. Crawford that no one had ever attempted to remove such a tumor and that most doctors would consider such a procedure impossible.
Despite the dire circumstances, Mrs. Crawford had little to lose and allowed McDowell to proceed with the operation. She endured a 25-minute surgery without anesthesia, during which the doctor successfully removed a 10-kilogram (22 lb) tumor. Contrary to expectations, Mrs. Crawford made a full recovery in under a month and lived for an additional 32 years. McDowell earned the title “father of the ovariotomy,” though he did not claim it immediately—waiting eight years before publishing his account of the procedure.
6. Richard Lower Performs The First Blood Transfusion
Blood transfusions are a cornerstone of modern medicine, but there was once a time when the idea was ridiculed. Though blood had long been used in various rituals throughout history, it wasn’t until the mid-17th century in London that transfusions were seriously considered for medical use. The pioneer of this research was Richard Lower, an Oxford physician and a member of the Royal Society, which had only been established a few years earlier.
In 1665, Richard Lower achieved the first successful animal blood transfusion. He transferred blood from one dog to another dog. Once he mastered this, he moved on to human subjects. In 1667, a sheep served as the blood donor, and a volunteer named Arthur Coga became the first human recipient of a blood transfusion, receiving 20 shillings for his participation. The procedure was observed by the famous diarist Samuel Pepys, who documented the event in great detail.
Coga received 9–10 ounces of sheep’s blood, and the groundbreaking procedure was published in Philosophical Transactions. However, the public did not view this as a momentous event. Instead, Lower and the Royal Society were ridiculed and mocked as crazy scientists. A play titled The Virtuoso, written by Thomas Shadwell, even made fun of the sheep-to-human transfusion.
Coga, who was believed to be mentally unstable, was thought to be an ideal candidate for the blood transfusion to cure his condition. When the procedure did not yield the expected results, the idea was dismissed. It would take another century before blood transfusions would be seriously reconsidered in medical practice.
5. Dominique Jean Larrey Perfects Battlefield Medicine
Dominique Jean Larrey is often regarded as the pioneer of modern military surgery due to his numerous innovations that continue to influence medical practices today. After mastering the standard medical practices of his time, he joined Napoleon’s army as a military surgeon. However, he quickly realized that these conventional methods were flawed. One example was the practice of keeping hospitals far from the battlefield for safety reasons. While this kept the hospitals secure, it also meant that many wounded soldiers died on the way. Larrey revolutionized this by setting up medical tents near the front lines, drastically improving the survival rate of injured soldiers.
With hospitals now positioned closer to the front lines, Larrey sought to speed up transportation as well. This led to the creation of the flying ambulance, the world’s first army ambulance corps. These were horse-drawn carriages originally used for artillery, now adapted for transporting the wounded. Larrey also became renowned for his expertise in amputations, developing faster and safer methods. Legend has it that he once performed 200 amputations in just 24 hours.
Larrey's dedication earned him the admiration of Napoleon, who appointed him surgeon-in-chief of the French army and later made him a baron. He was also deeply respected by the soldiers. After the crushing defeat at the Battle of Borodino, Larrey was lifted by the soldiers in a crowdsurfing-like fashion to ensure he wasn’t trampled during the retreat. Even Napoleon’s arch-enemy, the Duke of Wellington, ordered his troops not to fire near Larrey’s tent at Waterloo.
4. Sushruta’s Rhinoplasty
Ancient India made significant contributions to various fields such as mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. While the Western world had figures like Hippocrates and Galen, India had Sushruta, an ancient surgeon who lived during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Known as the 'father of plastic surgery,' Sushruta is famous for his pioneering work in nasal reconstruction. He provided detailed instructions on performing an early form of rhinoplasty by using skin from the cheek to repair the nose. Although we can't confirm whether Sushruta successfully carried out these procedures, his detailed approach remains impressive for the era.
Beyond plastic surgery, one of Sushruta's most important contributions to medicine was the Sushruta Samhita, an ancient text that laid the foundation for Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine still practiced today. This text compiled the majority of the medical knowledge available in India at the time, addressing over 1,000 ailments and listing numerous plants, minerals, and animal-based remedies with supposed healing properties.
3. Ignaz Semmelweis Encourages Doctors to Wash Their Hands
Humans are often resistant to change, especially when a new idea challenges long-established beliefs. Richard Lower faced ridicule for his work on blood transfusions. Edward Jenner was criticized by the clergy for his smallpox vaccine, with accusations of unholy experimentation. Yet, perhaps no one has made a more significant contribution to medicine that was met with as much scorn and derision as Ignaz Semmelweis.
Today, Semmelweis is regarded as the “savior of mothers,” a title that signifies a truly monumental achievement. We now understand the dangers of infection and the importance of maintaining sanitary conditions during medical procedures. However, this was not always the case.
While Joseph Lister is often credited with pioneering antiseptic surgery, Semmelweis had proposed the same concept decades earlier. The only difference was that Semmelweis became an outcast in the medical community due to his ideas.
Semmelweis observed a direct link between infection and puerperal fever in obstetrics clinics. By simply washing their hands and sterilizing instruments, doctors could reduce the death rate from the fever to below 1 percent. Puerperal fever was a deadly issue in the 19th century, claiming up to 18 percent of affected women. However, many doctors refused to accept that they were responsible for these deaths. It wasn’t until Pasteur proved germ theory that Semmelweis’s insights were finally validated. Tragically, by then, Semmelweis had descended into madness trying to convince others and was confined to an asylum, where he was beaten to death by guards.
George Hayward carried out the first amputation using general anesthesia, marking a significant moment in medical history.
After William Morton demonstrated ether as an effective anesthetic in 1846 with his “Letheon” inhaler, the medical community quickly began to explore its potential. While it had been shown to work well for minor procedures, the question arose: could it be used in more serious surgeries?
The widespread use of ether was delayed by Morton’s hesitation to reveal its chemical makeup. Despite the promising effects of his invention, doctors were hesitant to administer an unknown substance to patients, fearing possible side effects. Morton eventually offered to provide Letheon free to Boston hospitals, but physicians insisted on knowing the exact formula. Morton finally agreed and disclosed that sulfuric ether was the active ingredient in his concoction.
With the previous issue resolved, the anesthesia was now ready for a more daring medical procedure—an amputation. Dr. George Hayward took charge of the task. The patient, a 21-year-old servant named Alice Mohan, required the amputation of her leg due to tuberculosis. As before, Morton administered the gas, putting Alice to sleep. Hayward checked her response by pricking her with a pin. When there was no reaction, he quickly proceeded to amputate her leg.
When Alice regained consciousness, she had no awareness that she had been asleep or that the procedure had already been completed. When she asked when they would begin, Hayward calmly picked up her severed leg from the sawdust and handed it to her, showing it to its former owner.
1. Jean Civiale Achieves The First Minimally Invasive Surgery
Passing a kidney stone is often described as one of the most excruciating pains you can experience, with some women even claiming it surpasses the agony of childbirth. Over one million people in the United States face kidney stones each year. Thankfully, the old methods are a thing of the past. Today, we rely on a modern, minimally invasive procedure called lithotripsy, which employs various techniques to break up the stones.
Before the 19th century, the conventional treatment for kidney stones was lithotomy, which involved making an incision and removing the stone intact. This procedure was not only extremely painful but also had a high mortality rate. However, French physician Jean Civiale revolutionized the field with his invention, the lithotrite, which he used to perform the world's first minimally invasive surgery. This tool allowed Civiale to crush the stone before extracting it through the urethra.
Jean Civiale, a trailblazer in the field of urology and the founder of the first urology center at Necker Hospital in Paris, demonstrated that his technique was far more effective than the traditional lithotomy. While the older method had a mortality rate exceeding 18 percent, Civiale's lithotripsy brought it down to a mere 2 percent. He achieved this through an extensive and thorough study commissioned by the Paris Academy of Science, which was a major contribution to evidence-based medicine and had a lasting influence on the field.
