surgery

sur·ger·y

S0916100 (sûr′jə-rē)n. pl. sur·ger·ies 1. The branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of injury, deformity, and disease by the use of instruments.2. a. Treatment based on such medicine, typically involving the removal or replacement of diseased tissue by cutting: The athlete had surgery on his knee.b. A procedure that is part of this treatment; an operation: The doctor performed three surgeries this morning.3. An operating room or a laboratory of a surgeon or of a hospital's surgical staff: How long has the patient been in surgery?4. Chiefly British a. A physician's, dentist's, or veterinarian's office.b. The period during which a physician, dentist, or veterinarian consults with or treats patients in the office.

[Middle English surgerie, from Old French, alteration of cirurgerie, from cirurgie, from Latin chīrūrgia, from Greek kheirourgiā, from kheirourgos, working by hand : kheir, hand; see ghes- in Indo-European roots + ergon, work; see werg- in Indo-European roots.]

surgery

(ˈsɜːdʒərɪ) n, pl -geries1. (Surgery) the branch of medicine concerned with treating disease, injuries, etc, by means of manual or operative procedures, esp by incision into the body2. (Surgery) the performance of such procedures by a surgeon3. (Medicine) Brit a place where a doctor, dentist, etc, can be consulted4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) Brit an occasion when an MP, lawyer, etc, is available for consultation5. (Surgery) US and Canadian an operating theatre where surgical operations are performed[C14: via Old French from Latin chirurgia, from Greek kheirurgia, from kheir hand + ergon work]

sur•ger•y

(ˈsɜr dʒə ri)

n., pl. -ger•ies for 3-5. 1. the art, practice, or work of treating diseases, injuries, or deformities by manual or operative procedures. 2. the branch of medicine concerned with such treatment. 3. treatment, as an operation, performed by a surgeon. 4. a room or place for surgical operations. 5. any major repair or alteration produced as if by a surgical operation. 6. Brit. a doctor's office. [1250–1300; Middle English surgerie < Anglo-French; Old French cirurgerie < Latin chīrūrgia < Greek cheirourgía art, surgery = cheirourg(ós) doing by hand, practicing a craft, surgeon (cheír hand + -ourgos working; see -urgy)]

Surgery

See also medical specialties.
ablationMedicine. removal of part of the body by surgery.apocopeexcision or amputation.cauterismObsolete, cautery.cauterythe act of cauterization, or burning away of dead tissue.centesisa surgical perforation or puncture.chirurgeryArchaic. surgery.comminutionthe breaking of a bone into small pieces. See also bones.craniotomea surgical instrument for opening a hole in the skull.cryosurgerya surgical technique using freezing to destroy tissue.dermatoplastyany form of plastic surgery of the skin, as skin grafts.elytroplastysurgery of the vagina.neoplastyrepair or restoration of part of the body by plastic surgery.osteoplastythe surgical practice of bone-grafting.osteotomea serrated instrument for bone surgery.osteotomy1. the dissection or anatomy of bones.
2. the cutting of bones as part of a surgical operation. — osteotomist, n.prostheticsthe branch of surgery dealing with the replacement of missing limbs or organs with artificial substitutes. — prosthetic, adj.tomomaniaan obsession with surgery.traumatonesisthe process of suture.vasectomysurgical excision of part of the vas deferens, the duct which carries sperm from the testes, performed as a form of male contraception.zooplastythe process of surgically grafting tissue from a lower animal onto the human body. — zooplastic, adj.

surgery

1. used as an uncountable noun

In both British and American English, surgery is medical treatment in which a person's body is cut open so that a surgeon can deal with a diseased or damaged part.

He underwent surgery to repair a torn knee ligament.She may have to have more surgery on her wrist.2. used as a countable noun

A surgery can be used to refer to a particular medical operation. This meaning is used more in American English than British English.

He has had five knee surgeries.She was told she would have to have another surgery.

In British English, a doctor's or dentist's surgery is the building or room where he or she works and where people go to receive advice and minor treatment.

I called the surgery to make an appointment.

In American English, a building or room like this is called the doctor's or dentist's office.

Dr Patel's office was just across the street.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	surgery - the branch of medical science that treats disease or injury by operative procedures; "he is professor of surgery at the Harvard Medical School"ligation - (surgery) tying a duct or blood vessel with a ligature (as to prevent bleeding during surgery)surgical operation, surgical procedure, surgical process, surgery, operation - a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body; "they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available"; "he died while undergoing surgery"centesis - (surgery) the act of puncturing a body cavity or organ with a hollow needle in order to draw out fluiddrain - tube inserted into a body cavity (as during surgery) to remove unwanted materiallandmark - an anatomical structure used as a point of origin in locating other anatomical structures (as in surgery) or as point from which measurements can be takenstoma - a mouth or mouthlike opening (especially one created by surgery on the surface of the body to create an opening to an internal organ)graft, transplant - (surgery) tissue or organ transplanted from a donor to a recipient; in some cases the patient can be both donor and recipientmedical science - the science of dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of diseaseamastia - absence of the mammary glands (either through surgery or developmental defect)phlebothrombosis, venous thrombosis - thrombosis of a vein without prior inflammation of the vein; associated with sluggish blood flow (as in prolonged bedrest or pregnancy or surgery) or with rapid coagulation of the bloodligate - bind with a bandage or ligature; "ligate the artery"extirpate - surgically remove (an organ)enucleate - remove (a tumor or eye) from an enveloping sac or coverexenterate - remove the contents of (an organ)decerebrate - remove the cerebrum from (a human body)maxillofacial - of or relating to the upper jaw and face (particularly with reference to specialized surgery of the maxilla); "maxillofacial surgery"
	2.	surgery - a room where a doctor or dentist can be consulted; "he read the warning in the doctor's surgery"room - an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling; "the rooms were very small but they had a nice view"Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
	3.	surgery - a room in a hospital equipped for the performance of surgical operations; "great care is taken to keep the operating rooms aseptic"operating room, operating theater, operating theatre, ORhospital room - a room in a hospital for the care of patients
	4.	surgery - a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body; "they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available"; "he died while undergoing surgery"surgical operation, surgical procedure, surgical process, operationcatheterisation, catheterization - the operation of introducing a catheter into the bodyablation, cutting out, extirpation, excision - surgical removal of a body part or tissueamputation - a surgical removal of all or part of a limbangioplasty - an operation to repair a damaged blood vessel or unblock a coronary arteryarthroplasty - surgical reconstruction or replacement of a malformed or degenerated jointarthroscopy - a minimally invasive operation to repair a damaged joint; the surgeon examines the joint with an arthroscope while making repairs through a small incisionbrain surgery - any surgical procedure involving the braincastration - surgical removal of the testes or ovaries (usually to inhibit hormone secretion in cases of breast cancer in women or prostate cancer in men); "bilateral castration results in sterilization"cauterisation, cauterization, cautery - the act of coagulating blood and destroying tissue with a hot iron or caustic agent or by freezingchemosurgery - use of chemical to destroy diseased or malignant tissue; used in treatment of skin cancercraniotomy - a surgical opening through the skullcryosurgery - the use of extreme cold (usually liquid nitrogen) to destroy unwanted tissue (warts or cataracts or skin cancers)curettage, curettement - surgery to remove tissue or growths from a bodily cavity (as the uterus) by scraping with a curettedebridement - surgical removal of foreign material and dead tissue from a wound in order to prevent infection and promote healingdecortication - removal of the outer covering of an organ or partD and C, dilatation and curettage, dilation and curettage - a surgical procedure usually performed under local anesthesia in which the cervix is dilated and the endometrial lining of the uterus is scraped with a curet; performed to obtain tissue samples or to stop prolonged bleeding or to remove small tumors or to remove fragments of placenta after childbirth or as a method of abortionelectrosurgery - surgery performed with electrical devices (as in electrocautery)enterostomy, enterotomy - surgical operation that creates a permanent opening through the abdominal wall into the intestineenucleation - surgical removal of something without cutting into it; "the enucleation of the tumor"wrong-site surgery - a surgical operation performed on the wrong part of the bodyevisceration - surgical removal of an organ (or the contents of an organ) from a patientexenteration - surgical removal of the organs within a body cavity (as those of the pelvis)eye operation, eye surgery - any surgical procedure involving the eyesfenestration - surgical procedure that creates a new fenestra to the cochlea in order to restore hearing lost because of osteosclerosisgastrectomy - surgical removal of all or part of the stomachgastroenterostomy - surgical creation of an opening between the stomach wall and the small intestines; performed when the normal opening has been eliminatedgastrostomy - surgical creation of an opening through the abdominal wall into the stomach (as for gastrogavage)heart surgery - any surgical procedure involving the hearthaemorrhoidectomy, hemorrhoidectomy - surgical procedure for tying hemorrhoids and excising themhaemostasia, haemostasis, hemostasia, hemostasis - surgical procedure of stopping the flow of blood (as with a hemostat)hysterotomy - surgical incision into the uterus (as in cesarean section)implantation - a surgical procedure that places something in the human body; "the implantation of radioactive pellets in the prostate gland"surgical incision, incision, section - the cutting of or into body tissues or organs (especially by a surgeon as part of an operation)intestinal bypass - surgical operation that shortens the small intestine; used in treating obesityjejunostomy - surgical creation of an opening between the jejunum and the anterior abdominal wall; will allow artificial feedingmajor surgery - any surgical procedure that involves anesthesia or respiratory assistancemicrosurgery - surgery using operating microscopes and miniaturized precision instruments to perform intricate procedures on very small structuresminor surgery - any surgical procedure that does not involve anesthesia or respiratory assistancemyotomy - surgical incision or division of a musclemyringectomy - surgical removal of the eardrummyringoplasty - surgical repair of a perforated eardrum with a tissue graftmyringotomy - surgical incision into the eardrum (to relieve pressure or release pus from the middle ear)neurosurgery - any surgery that involves the nervous system (brain or spinal cord or peripheral nerves)

surgery

noun operation, treatment His father had just recovered from heart surgery.

Translations

外科外科手术外科手术室诊所

surgeon

(ˈsəːdʒən) noun1. a doctor who treats injuries or diseases by operations in which the body sometimes has to be cut open, eg to remove a diseased part. 外科医生2. a doctor in the army or navy. 军医surgery (ˈsəːdʒəri) – plural ˈsurgeries – 1. the practice or art of a surgeon. to specialize in surgery. 外科（学） 2. a doctor's or dentist's room in which he examines patients. 外科手术室surgical (ˈsəːdʒikəl) adjective of, or by means of, surgery. surgical instruments; He is in need of surgical treatment.外科的ˈsurgically adverb 用外科手术，在外科上

surgery

→ 外科手术zhCN, 诊所zhCN

surgery

surgery,

branch of medicinemedicine,
the science and art of treating and preventing disease. History of Medicine
Ancient Times

Prehistoric skulls found in Europe and South America indicate that Neolithic man was already able to trephine, or remove disks of bone from, the skull
..... Click the link for more information. concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and the excision and repair of pathological conditions by means of operative procedures (see also anesthesiaanesthesia
[Gr.,=insensibility], loss of sensation, especially that of pain, induced by drugs, especially as a means of facilitating safe surgical procedures. Early modern medical anesthesia dates to experiments with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) by Sir Humphry Davy of England
..... Click the link for more information. ; medicinemedicine,
the science and art of treating and preventing disease. History of Medicine
Ancient Times

Prehistoric skulls found in Europe and South America indicate that Neolithic man was already able to trephine, or remove disks of bone from, the skull
..... Click the link for more information. ; radiologyradiology,
branch of medicine specializing in the use of X rays, gamma rays, radioactive isotopes, and other forms of radiation in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Early History

In prehistoric times, sharpened flints and other sharp-edged devices were used to perform various surgical operations. Circumcision and other ritualistic operations were later performed with similar instruments. There are indications that in Neolithic times saws of stone and bone were used to perform amputations. Nearly all major operations were performed by the ancient Hindus nearly a thousand years before the advent of Greek medicine. Knowledge of the use of soporific potions to alleviate the pain caused by surgery can be traced to remote antiquity.

The early Greeks and Romans practiced surgery with great skill and with such cleanliness that infection of surgical and other wounds was relatively uncommon. Their cleanliness and their use of boiled water or wine for irrigating wounds was probably suggested by HippocratesHippocrates
, c.460–c.370 B.C., Greek physician, recognized as the father of medicine. He is believed to have been born on the island of Cos, to have studied under his father, a physician, to have traveled for some time, perhaps studying in Athens, and to have then
..... Click the link for more information. , a competent surgeon and diagnostician of that time. Other notable early surgeons were ErasistratusErasistratus
, fl. 3d cent. B.C., Greek physician, b. Chios. He was the leader of a school of medicine in Alexandria, and his works were influential until the 4th cent. A.D. He considered plethora (hyperemia) to be the primary cause of disease.
..... Click the link for more information. and HerophilusHerophilus
, fl. 300 B.C., Greek anatomist, called by some the father of scientific anatomy. A contemporary of Erasistratus at Alexandria, he made public dissections, comparing human and animal morphology.
..... Click the link for more information. of the medical school at Alexandria, and GalenGalen
, c.130–c.200, physician and writer, b. Pergamum, of Greek parents. After study in Greece and Asia Minor and at Alexandria, he returned to Pergamum, where he served as physician to the gladiatorial school. He resided chiefly in Rome from c.162.
..... Click the link for more information. , whose numerous treatises were long influential.

The surgical and sanitary techniques employed by the Greeks and Romans were lost with the decline of their civilizations. During the Middle Ages in Europe there was a marked regression in surgical knowledge, and postoperative infection was common. Surgical practice soon fell into the hands of the unskilled and uneducated: the barber-surgeon, who performed the usual functions of a barber as well as surgical operations, became a common figure, especially in England and France. It was not until the 18th cent. that surgery began to reach a professional level. There were, nevertheless, notable figures in early surgery, among them Guy de ChauliacChauliac, Guy de
, c.1300–1368, French surgeon. At Avignon he was physician to Pope Clement VI and to two of his successors. His Chirurgia magna (1363) was used as a manual by physicians for three centuries.
..... Click the link for more information. in the 14th cent., and in the 16th cent. Ambroise ParéParé, Ambroise
, c.1510–1590, French surgeon. Serving in the army, he revived the use of ligature instead of cautery with boiling oil and continued to devise and champion more humane treatments in medicine.
..... Click the link for more information. , who developed sutures and ligatures to stop bleeding and sew up wounds.

The Birth of Modern Surgery

With the introduction of antiseptic methods, surgery entered its modern phase. Louis PasteurPasteur, Louis
, 1822–95, French chemist. He taught at Dijon, Strasbourg, and Lille, and in Paris at the École normale supérieure and the Sorbonne (1867–89).
..... Click the link for more information. established the fact that microbes are responsible for infection and disease. Using this knowledge, Dr. Ignaz SemmelweisSemmelweis, Ignaz Philipp
, 1818–65, Hungarian physician. He was a pioneer in employing asepsis. While on the staff of the general hospital in Vienna, he recognized the infectious nature of puerperal fever and insisted that attendants in obstetrical cases thoroughly
..... Click the link for more information. reduced postpartum infections (puerperal sepsis) in the wards of Vienna's lying-in hospitals by urging doctors to wash their hands between patients. In the 1860s Joseph ListerLister, Joseph Lister, 1st Baron,
1827–1912, English surgeon, educated at University College, London. He brought to surgery the principle of antisepsis, an outgrowth of Pasteur's theory that bacteria cause
..... Click the link for more information. introduced the use of carbolic acid as a cleansing and disinfecting agent, and his results in reducing infection were dramatic. It was found later that the carbolic acid spray that Lister used to cleanse the air about the patient was unnecessary, but the antisepticantiseptic,
agent that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms on the external surfaces of the body. Antiseptics should generally be distinguished from drugs such as antibiotics that destroy microorganisms internally, and from disinfectants, which destroy microorganisms
..... Click the link for more information. treatment of instruments and other articles in contact with the patient continued until antisepsis was gradually replaced by the aseptic methods employed in modern hospitals. Before the discovery of antisepsis by Lister, about 80% of surgical patients contracted gangrene.

Ernst von Bergmann is credited with introducing steam sterilization under pressure for treating instruments and all other medical equipment used for a surgical patient. William Stewart HalstedHalsted, William Stewart
, 1852–1922, American surgeon, b. New York City, M.D. College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1877. He practiced in New York and in 1886 became the first professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins, where he was associated with Sir William Osler, W. H.
..... Click the link for more information. , the famous surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, introduced sterile rubber gloves when the hands of his fiancée became irritated from constant washings and antiseptics. The development of methods of anesthesiaanesthesia
[Gr.,=insensibility], loss of sensation, especially that of pain, induced by drugs, especially as a means of facilitating safe surgical procedures. Early modern medical anesthesia dates to experiments with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) by Sir Humphry Davy of England
..... Click the link for more information. , especially the discovery in the 1840s of the value of ether, has also been of immeasurable value.

Surgery in the Twentieth Century

In the 20th cent., surgery has benefited from an improved understanding of the causes of shockshock,
any condition in which the circulatory system is unable to provide adequate circulation to the body tissues, also called circulatory failure or circulatory collapse. Shock results in the slowing of vital functions and in severe cases, if untreated, in death.
..... Click the link for more information. and its treatment; knowledge of blood groupblood groups,
differentiation of blood by type, classified according to immunological (antigenic) properties, which are determined by specific substances on the surface of red blood cells.
..... Click the link for more information. typing and transfusion techniques; understanding of blood clotting and the use of anticoagulantsanticoagulant
, any of several substances that inhibit blood clot formation (see blood clotting). Some anticoagulants, such as the coumarin derivatives bishydroxycoumarin (Dicumarol) and warfarin (Coumadin) inhibit synthesis of prothrombin, a clot-forming substance, and other
..... Click the link for more information. ; and the development of antibioticsantibiotic,
any of a variety of substances, usually obtained from microorganisms, that inhibit the growth of or destroy certain other microorganisms. Types of Antibiotics
..... Click the link for more information. to control infection and analgesicsanalgesic
, any of a diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain. Analgesic drugs include the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates, acetaminophen, narcotic drugs such as morphine, and synthetic drugs with morphinelike action such as meperidine
..... Click the link for more information. to control pain. Surgical instruments have developed along with modern technology and are now sophisticated, meticulously designed devices. Electrically powered surgical instruments are invaluable for cauterycautery,
searing or destruction of living animal tissue by use of heat or caustic chemicals. In the past, cauterization of open wounds, even those following amputation of a limb, was performed with hot irons; this served to close off the bleeding vessels as well as to discourage
..... Click the link for more information. and for separating hard tissues such as bone with minimal damage. Surgical stapling instruments, first developed in the Soviet Union, can join blood vessels or other tissues in less than half the time required by hand stitching. New medical glues, surgical tapes, and even zippers now enable surgeons to close some wounds effectively without stitches. With the development of X-ray techniques and fluoroscopy and, later, CAT scansCAT scan
[computerized axial tomography], X-ray technique that allows relatively safe, painless, and rapid diagnosis in previously inaccessible areas of the body; also called CT scan.
..... Click the link for more information. and magnetic resonancemagnetic resonance,
in physics and chemistry, phenomenon produced by simultaneously applying a steady magnetic field and electromagnetic radiation (usually radio waves) to a sample of atoms and then adjusting the frequency of the radiation and the strength of the magnetic field
..... Click the link for more information. imaging (MRI), surgery gained valuable diagnostic instruments. Some operations are now being conducted inside specially adapted MRI devices, allowing the surgeon to have live images for guidance during operations. Holograms can be created using data from MRI and other diagnostic instruments and are beginning to be used in the operating room to give surgeons a three-dimensional image of the area to be operated upon, and models created using 3D printers may be used in preparing for complex surgeries.

Cryogenic, or supercooled, probe beams have been used to precisely remove tissues and abnormal growths. Ultrasoundultrasound
or sonography,
in medicine, technique that uses sound waves to study and treat hard-to-reach body areas. In scanning with ultrasound, high-frequency sound waves are transmitted to the area of interest and the returning echoes recorded (for more detail, see
..... Click the link for more information. techniques, using very-high-frequency sound waves, are used to break up kidney stones and are employed in brain and inner-ear operations, which require great precision and control. They are also used to scan the pregnant uterus, a process that, unlike X-ray scanning, does not endanger the fetus. Medical laserslaser
[acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation], device for the creation, amplification, and transmission of a narrow, intense beam of coherent light. The laser is sometimes referred to as an optical maser.
..... Click the link for more information. , which produce amplified monochromatic light waves in a very narrowly focused beam, have become useful tools in various forms of surgery, notably that of the eye, and are now commonly used to remove or "spot-weld" tissues.

The heart-lung machine made open-heart surgery possible by taking over the blood-pumping and breathing functions of these organs during operations. Hypothermia, or cold surgery, by which the body is cooled to lower the rate of metabolism, thus reducing the need for oxygen, has made long operations, especially those involving transplantationtransplantation, medical,
surgical procedure by which a tissue or organ is removed and replaced by a corresponding part, usually from another part of the body or from another individual.
..... Click the link for more information. , possible. Other recent transplantation advances include procedures involving the liver, lungs, pancreas, bone marrow, and the kidney. The first human heart transplant was performed in 1967 by South African surgeon Christiaan BarnardBarnard, Christiaan Neethling
, 1922–2001, South African surgeon. The son of a Dutch Reformed minister, Barnard studied medicine at the Univ. of Cape Town (M.B. 1946, M.D. 1953), then came to the United States in 1955 to improve his surgical technique under Owen H.
..... Click the link for more information. . The usefulness of transplantation is currently limited by the fact that drugs must be used constantly to halt the body's rejection of foreign tissue.

New techniques in orthopedic surgery (see also orthopedicsorthopedics
, medical specialty concerned with deformities, injuries, and diseases of the bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Most of the early advances in orthopedics were made by practicing physicians, many of them surgeons, to correct deformities such as clubfoot
..... Click the link for more information. ) have also been introduced, including the use of cementing substances to unite bones destroyed by tumor and the replacement of joints with metal or plastic devices. Plastic surgeryplastic surgery,
surgical repair of congenital or acquired deformities and the restoration of contour to improve the appearance and function of tissue defects. Development of this specialized branch of surgery received impetus from the need to repair gross deformities sustained
..... Click the link for more information. and reconstructive surgery have made enormous strides, and microsurgery is making severed or injured limbs usable.

A trend toward less invasive surgery and shorter hospital stays began in the 1980s. By 1995 more than 56% of all surgical procedures in the United States were done on an outpatient basis, without an overnight stay in a hospital. Endoscopic surgery, using small incisions and tiny instruments attached to fiber-optic viewing devices (see endoscopeendoscope,
any instrument used to look inside the body. Usually consisting of a fiber-optic tube attached to a viewing device, endoscopes are used to explore and biopsy such areas as the colon and the bronchi of the lungs.
..... Click the link for more information. ), has been used in place of more traditional procedures for gall-bladder surgery, and it has been used on the fetus in the womb to correct life-threatening birth defects before birth. Angioplastyangioplasty
, any surgical repair of a blood vessel, especially balloon angioplasty or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, a treatment of coronary artery disease.
..... Click the link for more information. is frequently used to circumvent or postpone the need for coronary artery bypass.

Bibliography

See O. H. and S. D. Wangensteen, The Rise of Surgery (1979); R. Selzer, Confessions of a Knife (1979); A. S. Earle, Surgery in America (1965, rev. ed. 1983); R. M. Youngson, The Surgery Book (1993); N. L. Tilney, Invasion of the Body (2011).

Surgery

the branch of medicine that studies diseases treated mainly by operative intervention and devises operating methods and techniques. Along with internal medicine, modern surgery developed into a major clinical discipline, growing out of “hand treatment” in the narrowly practical sense. What is required of the surgeon is not only a mastery of operative technique but also the general biological and medical knowledge on which treatment methods are founded.

The “surgical diseases” do not constitute a clear-cut group of pathological processes; the concept itself changes in scope with the growth of scientific knowledge. Until the end of the 19th century, for example, the surgical treatment of appendicitis was unknown, and the disease was regarded as falling within the scope of internal medicine; today, acute appendicitis is considered a surgical disease and is treated by operative intervention only. The study and treatment of heart diseases were the exclusive province of internists until the mid-20th century—that is, until the development of cardiovascular surgery, which entails the study and surgical treatment of heart defects, aneurysms, angina pectoris, and myocardial infarction. The achievements of modern surgery are linked to the progress of the natural sciences and technology and to advances in anesthesiology, reanimatology, and the science of blood transfusion. All these advances made it possible to use surgical methods in treating diseases of hitherto inaccessible vital organs such as the heart, lungs, major blood vessels, brain, and spinal cord.

History. Along with internal medicine and obstetrics, surgery is among the oldest medical specialties. Archaeological finds and ancient manuscripts attest that surgical treatment was attempted as early as the Stone Age. Bloodletting, bonesetting, cesarean section, and the removal of stones from the bladder were practiced in Egypt in the second or third millennium B.C. In ancient India, nasal defects were repaired by grafts of skin from the forehead. Greek medical writings from the time of Hippocrates describe such operations as trepanation of the skull, puncture of cavities, and treatment of fractures, as well as a great number of surgical instruments. Celsus describes an amputation in which hemorrhaging was arrested with ligation of the large blood vessels. The second-century Greek physician Antyllus performed an operation for aneurysm of the blood vessels and wrote about the treatment of fistulas and the crushing of a calculus in the bladder.

Medieval medicine, in keeping with religious dogma, forbade the spilling of blood and the use of corpses for anatomical study. This led to the opposition between medicine, which was practiced by “scholarly” physicians, and surgery, which passed into the hands of barbers and bathhouse attendants and became a craft. The advances in anatomy associated with the work of Vesalius, Fallopio, and Eustachio during the Renaissance laid the scientific foundations for the development of surgery. The use of firearms also played a part, as it caused huge numbers of casualties and a greater need for the treatment of wounds. Paré, one of the founders of scientific surgery, worked out the technique of amputation and contributed to the science of dressings and treatment of gunshot wounds. The French surgeon P. Franco, who was Paré’s contemporary, perfected the techniques of inguinal herniotomy and lithotomy.

Others who made notable contributions to surgery were B. Maggi (Italy), and F. Würtz (Switzerland) in the 16th century and H. Fabricius (Italy), J. Hunter (Great Britain), and A. Scarpa (Italy) in the 17th and 18th centuries. An academy of surgery was founded in Paris in 1731, and in 1743 it was granted the same rights as the medical faculty of the University of Paris. Surgery was now formally established as a medical profession.

In Russia, the earliest surgeons were quacks and “bonesetters.” Foreign surgeons appeared at the court of the grand duke of Moscow in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, army troops had their regimental physicians, barbers, and “blood-throwers”—that is, individuals who performed bloodletting and applied dressings. In 1707, by order of Peter I, the Moscow general hospital established a hospital school where surgery was taught in conjunction with anatomy. Similar schools were established in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt in 1733. The first Russian surgical clinic opened in St. Petersburg in 1806; it was named after I. F. Bush, who wrote a handbook of surgery in Russian. I. V. Buial’skii and other well-known surgeons were followers of Bush’s school of surgery.

The introduction of anesthesia and asepsis in the 19th century disposed of the two major problems—pain and postoperative suppuration of the wound—that had hindered the progress of surgery in spite of the fairly high level of operating techniques. This was accomplished within a mere two decades. Narcosis by the use of ether was proposed by W. Morton in 1846; a year later, J. Simpson substituted chloroform for ether as an anesthetic. In 1867, J. Lister suggested that the microorganisms contaminating a wound could be controlled by means of carbolic acid and thus laid the foundations of antisepsis. In the late 19th century this was replaced by asepsis, which aimed at the preoperative destruction of microorganisms and their spores by physical means—for example, by boiling linens and instruments in water or sterilization by steam.

The discovery of X rays enabled 20th-century physicians to examine deep-lying organs and tissues, thus significantly improving the quality of surgical diagnosis. Another contributing factor was the development of endoscopy, which made it possible to examine such organs as the urinary tract, the rectum, and the esophagus.

In France, advances in 19th-century surgery are associated with the names of D. Larrey, G. Dupuytren, and J. Lisfranc (1790–1847). The seroserous suture proposed by A. Lembert in 1826 remains the basis of gastrointestinal surgery. Various techniques for the ligation of major arterial trunks, herniotomy, and bone and joint operations were worked out by British surgeons, such as A. Cooper (1768–1841) and J. Paget (1814–1899). Leadership in the development of surgery passed to Germany and Austria in the last quarter of the 19th century. B. Langenbeck, after whom many operations were named, and T. Billroth, a pioneer in gastric surgery, were the founders of scientific surgery in Germany. Their students and followers included the Swiss surgeon T. Kocher and the German surgeons F. von Esmarch (1823–1908), E. von Bergmann (1836–1907), F. Trendelenburg (1844–1924), J. von Mikulicz-Radecki (1850–1905), and A. Bier (1861–1949).

Among the significant achievements of the mid-19th century was the work of the Russian surgeon and anatomist N. I. Pirogov, founder of topographic anatomy (the basis of rational surgery) and modern military field surgery, a pioneer in the broad use of anesthesia and antisepsis in Russia, and a prominent supporter of the anatomical-physiological approach in surgery. Other Russians who contributed to advances in surgery were N. V. Sklifosovskii, A. A. Bobrov, P. I. D’iakonov, and N. A. Vel’iaminov.

The late 19th and the early 20th century were also marked by rapid advances in surgery in the United States—associated with the excellent equipment available in such large-scale surgical centers as the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. American surgeons whose work earned world renown include H. W. Cushing and G. Crile (1864–1943).

Modern developments. Major changes in surgery accompanied the evolution of contemporary medicine, with its division into increasingly narrow disciplines and simultaneous integration of allied fields of different disciplines to form complex branches, dealing with the pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of specific organs and systems—for example, cardiology. As early as the mid-19th century, surgery began to separate into branches that became independent medical disciplines (ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, urology, orthopedics, and traumatology). Oncology became a separate branch in the 20th century. Further differentiation and specialization, resulting from the specialized methods of examination and treatment developed in mid-century, led to the establishment of proctology as an independent scientific branch; the same may be said of pulmonary and vascular surgery.

Since the turn of the century, surgery has sought not only to remove diseased organs but also to restore them; this is reflected in the extensive use of plastic surgery to correct congenital and acquired abnormalities. Further progress in surgery is largely dependent on advances with respect to blood transfusion, shock prevention methods, and the use of antibiotics.

In the USSR, the first signs of rapid progress in surgery can be seen in the decade after the October Socialist Revolution of 1917. S. P. Fedorov founded a surgical school and did pioneering studies in surgery of the biliary and urinary tracts; P. A. Gertsen and N. N. Petrov laid the foundations of oncology in the USSR; I. I. Grekov, I. I. Dzhanelidze, V. S. Levit, A. V. Martynov, A. G. Savinykh, S. I. Spasokukotskii, V. N. Shamov, and S. S. Iudin made important contributions in connection with abdominal and emergency surgery; N. N. Burdenko and V. A. Oppel’ were instrumental in the development of Soviet neurosurgery, surgical endocrinology, and military field surgery; and A. V. Vishnevskii contributed to the science of local anesthesia.

The notable progress of cardiac surgery in the second half of the 20th century is based on the advances of modern anesthesiology as well as the successful use of heart-lung machines and of devices inducing hypothermia (that is, reducing the temperature of the body). Important work in this field was done by R. Brock and H. C. Suttar (Great Britain), C. Bailey, M. DeBakey. A. Blalock, D. Cooley, and D. Harken (United States), P. Valdoni and A. Dogliotti (Italy), C. Crafoord (Sweden), and N. M. Amosov, A. N. Bakulev, V. I. Burakovskii, A. A. Vishnevskii, P. A. Kupriianov, E. N. Meshalkin, and B. V. Petrovskii (USSR).

Advances in physiology and immunology enabled surgeons in the 1960’s and 1970’s to effect successful transplants of the kidneys (for example, by B. V. Petrovskii in the USSR) as well as of the heart and liver, thus laying the foundations of transplant science. The first successful human heart transplant was performed in 1967 by C. Barnard (Republic of South Africa). Some promising American-Soviet joint experiments have recently been made with the goal of creating an artificial heart.

Surgery is taught in the surgical departments of medical institutes and schools; in the USSR, instruction is also offered in the departments of topographic anatomy and operative surgery. Additional surgical training and specialization are provided in surgical clinics (including, in the USSR, the institutes of advanced medical training) and the various departments of large hospitals. Scientific research in surgery is centered in the major surgical clinics and specialized surgical institutes. In the USSR such research centers include the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Surgery and the A. V. Vishnevskii Institute of Surgery in Moscow, the institutes of emergency medical care in Moscow and Leningrad, the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Surgery in Kiev, and the Institute of General and Emergency Surgery in Kharkov.

The first Russian society of surgeons was founded in 1873 in Moscow. Surgical problems were discussed at the Pirogov Congresses from 1885 to 1899. The first congress of Russian surgeons was held in 1900; starting with the 22nd, held in 1932, these were called all-Union congresses. The 29th was held in 1974 in Kiev. Since 1953, the All-Union Society of Surgeons has been part of the International Society of Surgery (founded 1902), which holds congresses every two years; the 24th was held in 1971 in Moscow.

The following journals of general surgery are published in the USSR: Khirurgiia (since 1925), Vestnik khirurgii im. I. I. Grekova (Leningrad, since 1855), and Klinicheskaia khirurgiia (Kiev, since 1921). Foreign surgical journals include Acta Chirurgica Scandinavica (Stockholm, since 1869), Zentralblatt für Chirurgie (Leipzig, since 1874), American Journal of Surgery (New York, since 1890), British Journal of Surgery (Bristol, since 1913), and Archives of Surgery (Chicago, since 1920).

REFERENCES

Oppel’, V. A. Istoriia russkoi khirurgii. Vologda, 1923.
Meyer-Steineg, T., and K. Sudhoff. Istoriia meditsiny. Moscow-Leningrad, 1925. (Translated from German.)
Razumovskii, V. I. “Istoricheskii ocherk razvitiia russkoi khirurgii.” In Rukovodstvo prakticheskoi khirurgii, vol. 1. Leningrad-Moscow, 1936.
Zabludovskii, A. M. “Sostoianie khirurgii na Zapade v pervuiu polovinu XIX veka.” Vestnik khirurgii im. Grekova, 1937, vol. 50, books 133–134; vol. 51, book 135.
Kolesov, V. I. Stranitsy iz istorii otechestvennoi khirurgii. Moscow, 1953.
Mnogotomnoe rukovodstvo po khirurgii, vols. 1–12. Edited by B. V. Petrovskii. Moscow, 1959–68.
Geselevich, A. M., and E. I. Smirnov. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov: Nauchno-biograficheskii ocherk. Moscow, 1960.
Zabludovskii, P. E. Istoriia otechestvennoi meditsiny, parts 1–2. Moscow, 1960–71.
Iudin, S. S. Razmyshleniia khirurga. Moscow, 1968.
Struchkov, V. I. Obshchaia khirurgiia, 3rd ed. Moscow, 1972.
Bankoff, G. The Story of Surgery. London, 1947.
Traité de technique chirurgicale, 2nd ed., vols. 1–8. Paris, 1952–61.
Marcus, E., and L. M. Zimmerman. Princples of Surgical Practice. New York, 1960.
Schmitt, W. Fundamentals of Surgery. Leipzig, 1962.
Chirurgische Operationslehre, 8th ed., vols. 1–6. Leipzig, 1969–76.B. S. ROZANOV and A. G. KISSINVeterinary surgery. Veterinary surgery is the branch of surgery concerned with the methods of diagnosing, treating, and preventing surgical diseases in animals—particularly injured farm animals. As a scientific discipline, veterinary surgery in the USSR includes the subdivisions of general and specialized surgery, ophthalmology (for diseases of the eye), orthopedics (for hoof diseases and shoeing of animals), and operative surgery jointly with topographic anatomy. Veterinary military field surgery was a subdivision of surgery until 1945. Surgical veterinary services in the USSR are strictly based on the extent to which treatment serves economic purposes. Thus the chief objective is the rapid recovery of farm animals’ reduced or lost productivity at minimum expense.
M. A. Mal’tsev, L. S. Sapozhnikov, B. M. Olivkov, and I. D. Medvedev made significant contributions to veterinary surgery in the USSR. Soviet veterinary surgeons developed and introduced new methods of performing economically worthwhile operations on farm animais. Ongoing studies are concerned with anesthesiology, the properties of wounds in various animal species, and operations on the extremities, the reproductive organs, and the digestive and other systems. The principal research centers are the respective departments of the institutions of veterinary education; such research work is coordinated by the veterinary department of the V. I. Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Veterinary surgery is taught in the institutions of veterinary education and in technicums.

I. I. MAGDA

What does it mean when you dream about surgery?

If someone has experienced surgery, a dream about surgery could be putting one back in touch with the emotions one felt around the operation. Alternatively, a dream about surgery could represent a more general concern about one’s health. Metaphorically, a dream surgery could reflect a feeling that we are “operating” on our emotions, such as removing our heart (a symbol of affection).

surgery

[′sər·jə·rē] (medicine) The branch of medicine that deals with conditions requiring operative procedures.

surgery

1. the branch of medicine concerned with treating disease, injuries, etc., by means of manual or operative procedures, esp by incision into the body 2. the performance of such procedures by a surgeon 3. Brit a place where a doctor, dentist, etc., can be consulted 4. Brit an occasion when an MP, lawyer, etc., is available for consultation 5. US and Canadian an operating theatre where surgical operations are performed
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/surgery.html
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Surgery

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What does it mean when you dream about surgery?

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Synonyms for surgery

noun operation

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Synonyms for surgery

noun the branch of medical science that treats disease or injury by operative procedures

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noun a room where a doctor or dentist can be consulted

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noun a room in a hospital equipped for the performance of surgical operations

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noun a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments

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