The Father of Modern Sugery

Hello, I'm sorry for my prolonged absence, many supportive people have encouraged me to return, so, despite the impending doom that is my exams I have decided to post again. Today we are back on the history of medicine, specifically surgery and how it was developed in the 1500's. There honestly are some really interesting facts in here that I wasn't even aware about until I began researching it. 

Paré was one fine guy

In Europe in the 1500's it was barbers, not doctors, who performed minor operations such as treating cuts and pulled teeth. Those who had the skills to close wounds were called 'Barber-surgeons', the stripes of a barber pole still show red for blood and white for bandages, the most well renowned 'Barber-surgeon' was Ambroise (no, not the custard)  Paré.

Paré was born in a country town in France in 1510 and because he was born into a poor family he only received a basic education and was not taught Greek or Latin - the languages used by Scholars and Doctors.  He grew up to be a barber's assistant - this was the first step to becoming a fully fledged doctor. Overtime Ambroise became progressively more interested in the medical side of the barber profession. In 1529 he decided that he wanted to become a fully-fledged doctor, he knew the best medical schools were in Paris, so he traveled there.

Unfortunately, no medical schools would let him in due to a language barrier - the entrance tests were in Latin and Greek. He was not disparaged by his rejections and found a position as a barber-surgeon at the 'Hotel of God', the oldest hospital in the world (a rather large claim, but i have found nothing to refute this), it was also a charity hospital and was extremely primitive. It was dirty, poorly lighted and damp, charcoal fires burned in a copper pans on the floor to heat it during the winter. Occasionally professors would bring their medical students around the wards and lecture them about the cases there, Paré gained a tremendous amount of practical experience and discovered that many of the facts the professors taught their students were wrong.

Three years later, when France went to war, Paré was hired as a surgeon. In the 1500's it was believed that powder burns from gunshots were poisonous, so they would pour boiling oil into the wound - which was, quite obviously, extremely painful. Paré was following the standard procedure when a fearful battle broke out and Paré ran out of oil, he had to treat the wounds somehow, so in desperation he made an ointment of egg yolk, oil of roses and turpentine which he applied to the wound. He blamed himself for running out of oil and worried throughout the night about the men, he expected them to die. The next morning he made rounds and to his great relief found that the men who had received his ointment had rested more comfortably than those who had received the boiling oil. Paré came to the conclusion after seeing the result of the two treatments that he would never again treat with boiling oil. He also thought back to Hippocrates, who taught that doctors should avoid harsh remedies.

An ornate surgeon's knife that was used for amputating
limbs

Another astounding discovery of Paré's was the tourniquet. Many soldiers would require amputations, and would survive the actual amputation but would die from shock from the hot iron that was applied to cauterize the wound, so one day, Paré tied off the blood vessels instead with cotton thread, this worked better than the hot iron.

Paré was not liked by other doctors, and so, after his new-found fame from the alternative treatment for amputations he wrote a book, but Doctors resented him, so found an old law that prevented it from being published for four years. When it was though, it sold out.

Well, I apologise for the brusque writing, exams are looming and though I find it enjoyable being back here I cannot ignore the requirement to go and learn things. I thank all of you who have returned after my long absence, and those who are new. I hit 600 page views, lets see if we can reach 1000!

See you soon.

I promise. 

No really.

I wouldn't lie.