title: Thoracoscopy before Jacobaeus.
abstract: In 1910 Jacobaeus described a procedure to which he referred as "Thorakoskopie." As a consequence, he is credited with having been the first to undertake an endoscopic exploration of the thorax. However, a published report by Gordon demonstrates that thoracoscopy was performed about 50 years earlier. Additionally in French, at least, the term "thoracoscopie" was well known long before Jacobaeus, although perhaps with a different meaning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery Charité, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Germany. hoksch@t-online.de
authors.forename: Beatrix
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoksch
authors.forename: Hanno
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Birken-Bertsch
authors.forename: Joachim M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D005060:Europe; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D020708:Thoracoscopes / Q000266:history; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000266:history*