Amputation through the ages: the oldest major surgical operation.
Amputation has been practised since neolithic times for punitive, therapeutic and ritualistic reasons. Until the development and adoption of general anaesthesia, it was the most major operation to which a surgeon could aspire and a speedy technique was essential. Many famous names have been associated with this operation in both military and civilian surgery.
Magee
R
R
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000266:history*; D001186:Artificial Limbs / Q000266:history; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000266:history