Re: Pre-Med (diatribe)

[brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>]

At 11:52 6/16/99 -0500, Karl wrote:
> ...
> Regarding the history of surgery:  I understand that the observation
> galleys were originally a part of the spectacle of early surgery, *not*
> part of the training arena for future surgeons.  Spectators observed for
> amusement, often cheering for the gruesomeness of the activity (and often
> being disappointed when the patient survived). Surgery was originally a
> last ditch effort applied to a person who was not expected to survive the
> activity. smile...Karl

I recommend a visit to the 'ether dome' at Massachussetts General
Hospital when visiting Boston.
  While I was visiting, there was a photo series of a civil war veteran
enduring amputation by the earlier technique (opium and alcohol)
until the loss of blood and tissue was reflected in shock, by which
point his posture sagged from military to resigned.

Complaints from the lower floors of blood dripping through the ceiling
from patients strapped into the surgeon's chair were remedied
with sawdust. The following fifty years showed dramatic changes.
By the opening of the twentieth century, Americans could expect to live
well into their forties, on average.

brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK