The New Surgery.

The discoveries of anesthesia in 1846 and antiseptics in 1865 as well as the rapid expansion of radiology not only set the stage for further developments in established surgical procedures but also opened new fields for surgeons. Because of improved methods and technology, surgical procedures that a generation before had been contemplated with anxiety were viewed in 1910 as almost routine. By the beginning of World War I a surgical revolution established new directions for surgical practice, especially in the realm of neurosurgery, and by the war's end other new contributions to surgery had been made.

Cushing.

Modern neurosurgery began in 1907 when Harvey Williams Cushing performed an operation for trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux) at Johns Hopkins. Cushing's main contribution to the field of neurosurgery was to develop precision techniques that steadily improved operative effectiveness. One of the main difficulties faced in early brain surgery was...