Ambroise Paré and 16th century neurosurgery

Abstract

The luminousness of Ambroise Paré, the surgeon-statesman, has withstood the ravages of time as the mark of a man, a hero, a surgeon-par-excellence, and above all, a benevolent philosopher. A self-made individual, his tryst with the art of surgery emanated from the literally non-stop battlefields of 16th century feudal Europe. Although a maverick in the medical world of his times; he rose from the humblest origins to the highest echelons solely as a result of his own genius and diligence. Among his mammoth contributions to the renaissance of surgery, Paré did perform many procedures which we see as neurosurgical, especially in the realms of neurotrauma and paediatric neurosurgery; the present vignette is an attempt to elucidate the same.

Key words:

• Ambroise Paré
• neurosurgery
• 16th century

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.