Summary of Ira Rutkow's Empire of the Scalpel

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The history of surgery began with the discovery of cavemen who had performed neurosurgery. The skulls were found to have been trepanned, or deliberately removed a large portion of their craniums. #2 The ancient skulls that were found showed that Stone Age surgeons were able to perform complex surgery, such as trephination, which was the removal of part of the skull to treat convulsions, epileptic fits, mental illness, and other neurological maladies. #3 The stele, which was carved out of black basalt, is the most complete legal compendium of Antiquity. It was written and sculpted by the legendary Hammurabi, ruler of the Amorite dynasty of ancient Babylon, and was defaced and flaunted as a trophy of war in the twelfth century BC. #4 The surgeon was considered lower than the priest/ physician in Babylonian society, and the notion of caveat chirurgicus was established. If a surgeon had treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a bronze lancet and caused his death, he would be punished by having his hands cut off.