From an eminent surgeon and historian comes the “by turns fascinating and ghastly” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice) story of surgery’s development—from the Stone Age to the present day—blending meticulous medical research with vivid storytelling.
There are not many life events that can be as simultaneously frightening and hopeful as a surgical operation. In America, tens-of-millions of major surgical procedures are performed annually, yet few of us consider the magnitude of these figures because we have such inherent confidence in surgeons. And, despite passionate debates about health care and the media’s endless fascination with surgery, most of us have no idea how the first surgeons came to be because the story of surgery has never been fully told. Now, Empire of the Scalpel elegantly reveals surgery’s fascinating evolution from its early roots in ancient Egypt to its refinement in Europe and rise to scientific dominance in the United States.
From the 16th-century saga of Andreas Vesalius and his crusade to accurately describe human anatomy while appeasing the conservative clergy who clamored for his burning at the stake, to the hard-to-believe story of late-19th century surgeons’ apathy to Joseph Lister’s innovation of antisepsis and how this indifference led to thousands of unnecessary surgical deaths, Empire of the Scalpel is both a global history and a uniquely American tale. You’ll discover how in the 20th century the US achieved surgical leadership, heralded by Harvard’s Joseph Murray and his Nobel Prize–winning, seemingly impossible feat of transplanting a kidney, which ushered in a new era of transplants that continues to make procedures once thought insurmountable into achievable successes.
Today, the list of possible operations is almost infinite—from knee and hip replacement to heart bypass and transplants to fat reduction and rhinoplasty—and “Rutkow has a raconteur’s touch” (San Francisco Chronicle) as he draws on his five-decade career to show us how we got here. Comprehensive, authoritative, and captivating, Empire of the Scalpel is “a fascinating, well-rendered story of how the once-impossible became a daily reality” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
ISBN-13: 9781501163746
Media Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: 03-08-2022
Pages: 416
Product Dimensions: 6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.50(d)
Ira Rutkow is a general surgeon and historian of American medicine. He also holds a doctorate of public health from Johns Hopkins University. Among Dr. Rutkow’s books are several encyclopedic works on surgical history: Surgery: An Illustrated History, named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; American Surgery: An Illustrated History; and a two-volume bibliography, The History of Surgery in the United States, 1775-1900. He is the author of three other books, Seeking the Cure, James A. Garfield, and Bleeding Blue and Gray. Dr. Rutkow and his wife divide their time between New York City and a farm in the Hudson Valley.
Table of Contents
Author's Note ix
Prelude 1
Part I Beginnings
1 Genesis 15
2 Exodus 23
3 Prolific Pens 29
4 Darkness, Then Daylight 37
Part II Foundations
5 The Human Road Map 51
6 To Stop the Flow 65
7 The Circle 79
8 Emergence 89
9 Transition 103
Part III Revolutions
10 Pain-Free 119
11 They're Alive 135
12 Scientific Progress 155
13 The Shock of Technology 169
Part IV Baptisms
14 Mass Appeal 185
15 Professionalization 207
Part V Triumphs
16 The Blood of War 231
17 The Center of Things 253
18 Out with the Old 273
Part VI The Present and the Future
19 Changes 295
20 Prospects 317
Acknowledgments 325
Notes 327
Bibliography 347
References 353
Photo Credits 383
Index 385