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John Hunter Was Born Into a Farming Family in Scotland

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John Hunter Was Born Into a Farming Family in Scotland •JohnJohn Hunter: Hunter overview was born into a farming family in Scotland. At the age of 20, he moved to London to be an assistant to his brother William. William was a successful physician/doctor who had started an anatomy school in London. He also specialised in childbirth. John was very interested in anatomical research and had a talent for precise dissection. Apparently, John had another job which was to rob graves at night to supply bodies for his brother’s anatomy school. John worked as an army surgeon during the Seven Years War (1756-1763) where he dealt with gunshot wounds and amputations. Edward Jenner was one of his students. He became famous in his own lifetime, known as the ‘father of scientific surgery’. Interesting Fact John Hunter was accused of ‘Burking’ in a recent newspaper article. ‘Burking’ is named after William Burke and William Hare who were accused of committing ten murders over the course of a few months in Edinburgh in 1828. It was said that they did this to supply anatomy schools and surgeons with fresh bodies to dissect. Hare gave evidence against Burke and so got away with the murders. Burke, however, was hanged. Timeline of John Hunter 1728 born 1760 became army surgeon 1763 left army to set up medical practice in London 1767 injected self with pus from the sores of gonorrhoea patient. The patient also had syphilis and it took Hunter 3 years to recover using standard mercury treatment. Shows that he was willing to try radical, scientific methods in the name of research. 1768 surgeon at St George’s Hospital 1768 admitted to the Company of Surgeons. Trained many surgeons in his scientific method who became famous in GB and the USA eg Edward Jenner 1771 published ‘The Natural History of the Teeth’ (writing based on his skills as a dissector and his own research) 1776 surgeon to King George III 1785 further evidence that Hunter willing to try radical, scientific methods, man admitted to St George’s Hospital with a throbbing lump (aneurysm) on knee. Usual treatment was to amputate but Hunter had learned from his dissections; he thought that if the blood flow to the aneurysm was restricted, it would encourage new blood vessels to develop and bypass the damaged area. He tried his theory on animals and then conducted surgery on the man: he cut into the leg and, at several points, tied off the artery to restrict blood flow to the aneurysm. Six weeks later, the man walked out of hospital, Hunter had saved his leg. 1783 Hunter added skeleton of 7ft 7 inches Irish giant Charles Byrne to his huge collection of anatomical specimens (included diseased organs, embryos, animals, plants, fossils) 1786 published ‘On Venereal Disease’. Translated into a number of languages and therefore, widely read 1790 Surgeon-General to army 1793 died in debt and in poverty despite having earned lots on money. He spent it on research and his specimen collection. After death ‘Blood Inflammation and Gunshot Wounds’ published . Finally got rid of the idea that gunshot wounds were poisoned and thus, area around them needed to be cut out. Hunter explained that this type of wound should be treated the same as any other. Support for practice question Scientific method - dissections *Hunter and Vesalius both gifted dissectors *Hunter carried out own dissections just like Vesalius. Books 2 *Both both believed in careful observation of *Like Vesalius, Hunter also published the knowledge that he patients gained from observations and dissections in books eg The Natural History of the Teeth’ (1771)/ ‘On Venereal Disease’ (1786). *Like Vesalius, these books were popular and widely read and so educated surgeons by showing the theoretical knowledge about anatomy that they needed to know. *Like Vesalius, from dissecting so many human bodies, Hunter made important discoveries about the nature of Books 1 disease, infections, cancer and the circulation of the blood. *Vesalius’ knowledge made available to everyone Vesalius was able to question the work of Galen through his through ‘The Fabric of the Human Body’ (1543), own dissections and research which meant that he met beautifully illustrated. Book explained how different more opposition than Hunter. systems within the body worked rather than focus on individual organs as previous books had. Vesalius criticised for questioning Galen *Vesalius’ book came to England second half of the 16th Inspiring others century (1500s). Was very popular and inspired English *Vesalius showed others how to do proper dissections and surgeons. famous 16th century anatomists who followed his approach *Inspired Pare who included much of the work of were Fabricus and Fallopius who used dissection to find out Vesalius on anatomy in his own book ‘Works on Surgery’ about specific parts of the body. (1575). *Hunter also taught and inspired many surgeons eg Edward Jenner. 3. Compare the work of Andreas Vesalius and John Hunter. In what ways were they similar? Explain your answer with reference to both. 8 marks • This asks you to compare what you know about 2 topics within this part of the course. • Identify and explain ways in which both the Vesalius and Hunter are similar. • In this instance, you do not need to explain how they are different although this question might ask you to discuss differences instead of similarities. • When comparing the men consider: A. area of work: any similarities? B. impact: what were the results of the work of these men, any similarities? • Try to organise your answer in the sections above-explain any similarities that you can find within them. • Write a short conclusion to pull your argument together. • For top marks, you need to demonstrate a range of accurate knowledge and understanding relevant to the question. • Please email your answers to Mrs Reeve-McKew or Miss Gunn for marking • [email protected] • [email protected].
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