Introduction À l'Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale—Surgical Revolution Part II

Abstract

The book that Claude Bernard (1813–1878) published in 1865, the Introduction à l'Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale, fostered a revolution that we believe influenced the practice of surgery when the discipline became a scientific enterprise.

In Part I, we set the stage by presenting the life and accomplishments of Bernard, by reviewing his science, and introducing his experimental medicine work. In this issue in Part II, we further analyze his book and determine the “why” of a genuine surgical revolution. What were the factors that generated this revolution, and how a new generation of surgeons learned to become better researchers, and thus better surgeons, were the main objectives of this work. Science, research, and surgery became highly intertwined and the surgeon pursued these fields of knowledge more effectively.

Keywords:

• Claude Bernard
• experimental medicine
• surgical revolution