Book Review

The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times

N Engl J Med 1997; 337:207-208July 17, 1997

Article

The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times
By Raymond Hurt, with contributions by J.E.S. Barry, A.P. Adams, and P.R. Fleming. 514 pp., illustrated. New York, Parthenon, 1996. $98. ISBN: 1-85070-681-6

Raymond Hurt has produced a remarkably thorough narrative history of thoracic surgery and the surgeons and physicians who made it into the special field that it is.

After due prefatory credits and a foreword by Denton Cooley, the story begins with Imhotep and unfolds at a rapid pace, hitting the high points of Greek, Roman, and Arabic medicine. The pace slows with the discussion of Galen (circa a.d. 130-200) and the narrative accounts of the Renaissance physicians who encountered problems in the chest that were outside the domain of the barber surgeons. With the coming of the 19th century, the pace changes again, with linear descriptions of certain disease states, such as lung abscess, tuberculosis, chest injuries, and esophageal obstruction, and the development of major procedures, such as resection of the lung and its segments. Generous space is allotted to diseases of the esophagus, the author's field of interest. The chapters on emphysema, tuberculosis, and chest injuries are especially worthy of mention. The discussion of cardiac surgery is admittedly sketchy because of its late arrival on the scene, in 1940 rather than in early times.

The impressive list of references following each chapter reflects the extended coverage of the book. Of particular note is the biographical section at the end of the book, which contains excellent brief profiles of the major players in the development of cardiothoracic surgery.

The text is profusely and well illustrated. The author has borrowed intelligently from Lew A. Hochberg's classic Thoracic Surgery before the 20th Century (New York: Vantage Press, 1960), and R.H. Meade's A History of Thoracic Surgery (Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, 1961), both now out of print and hard to find.

In the preface, the author indicates his aim of providing ``a good read.'' He has succeeded, handling an impressive amount of material skillfully. This is an excellent book for reading or browsing and is a handy reference.

J. Gordon Scannell, M.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114