Surgery

The first surgical procedures were performed in the Neolithic Age (about 10,000 to 6000 bc). Trepanning, a procedure in which a hole is drilled in the skull to relieve pressure on the brain, may have been performed as early as 8000 bc. In Egypt, carvings dating to 2500 bc describe surgical circumcision—the removal of foreskin from the penis and the clitoris from female genitalia.

Operations such as castration (the removal of a male’s testicles); lithotomy (the removal of stones from the bladder); and amputation (the surgical removal of a limb or other body part) are also believed to have been performed by the Egyptians. Ancient Egyptian medical texts have been found that provide instructions for many surgical procedures including repairing a broken bone and mending a serious wound.

In ancient India, the Hindus surgically treated bone fractures and removed bladder stones, tumors, and infected tonsils. They are also credited with having developed plastic surgery as early as 2000 bc in response to the punishment of cutting off a person’s nose or ears for certain criminal offenses. Using skin flaps from the forehead, Hindu surgeons shaped new noses and ears for the punished criminals.

In the 4th century bc, the Greek physician Hippocrates published descriptions of various surgical procedures, such as the treatment of fractures and skull injuries, with directions for the proper placement of the surgeon’s hands during these operations.