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.