A selective history of hernia surgery in the late eighteenth century: the treatises of Percivall Pott, Jean Louis Petit, D. August Gottlieb Richter, Don Antonio de Gimbernat, and Pieter Camper

Abstract

Of the different eras in the evolution of hernia surgery one of the most intriguing is the late eighteenth century, when surgeon/anatomists first began to publish their studies of the abdominal wall and the inguinal and femoral canals. It became known as the age of dissection, and many of the surgical successes of subsequent periods can be traced back to the anatomical knowledge gained from 1750 to 1800. These fifty years also served as the all-important transition era from text-only hernia treatises to lavishly illustrated monographs. The works of Percivall Pott, Jean Louis Petit, D. August Gottlieb Richter, Don Antonio de Gimbernat, and Pieter Camper were among the most influential hernia-related tomes of this time. Biographies of these five surgeons and extracts from their writings are presented in this article.