Compare surgery and anatomy during the Renaissance with surgery and anatomy in the 19th century. In what ways were they similar?

In both the Renaissance period and the 19th-century surgery and anatomy advanced and new approaches were used. For example, in the Renaissance period, Paré developed ligatures and lotion to seal wounds; this replaced the cauterisation method previously used, making the treatment of wounds less painful. Equally, in the 19th-century the new industrial chemistry of the period was utilised by Simpson, in the use of chloroform to stop the pain of surgery by making patients unconscious, and by Lister, to develop antiseptic which decreased the mortality rate from forty-six per cent to fifteen per cent. However, in both periods, the new advancements in treatments also had drawbacks. Paré's ligatures did effectively seal wounds, but they could also introduce infection into the wounds. Similarly, when Lister introduced chloroform in the 1840s infection was not yet adequately understood, and the longer surgeries which it allowed for were extremely dangerous due to the potential prolonged exposure to pathogens. In this way, developments in both periods were not entirely successful and created other problems. Finally, there was criticism of expert individuals in both periods and opposition to the change they created. In the renaissance period, Vesalius received opposition to his idea that Galen was wrong as the works of Galen had previously been believed for centuries. Equally, Lister antiseptic method was disbelieved as critics did not think that something as small as a germ could do so much harm. Therefore, it was a struggle to make progress in both periods. 

Answered by Zoe G. History tutor

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