John Hunter Essay

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John Hunter the Scientist John Hunter was said to have been one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons. Hunter was a skilled surgeon and made way for those in his field. His contributions included transplantation, orthopedics, wound healing and pathology. He became this great scientist through years of practice. Hunter was a Scottish man born February 13, 1728. The youngest of ten, he grew up on a farm with his siblings. Ironically, for the most part he disliked school and hated books. After his father’s death in 1741, John dropped out of school. At around 20 years of age he began to work alongside his older brother William Hunter, a well-known Obstetrician. William taught at an anatomy school in London. John helped his brother in preparations and dissecting. He displayed a great talent for this and resulting in his brother encouraging him to take some courses in it. John Hunter then became somewhat of a student at Chelsea Hospital. John became house surgeon at St. George’s Hospital in 1768. He later served as a surgeon in the Army. Through studying wounded soldiers he gained a lot of valuable information. He was first to make the link of pathology to surgery. Through studying soldiers’ inflammation from gunshot wounds he made the conclusion that surgery and amputation should always be the last resort. He remains correct. He was also one of the first to understand the importance of controlling infection during surgery. Though John Hunter did great things in surgery his heart was still with anatomy. He conducted most studies on animals. A famous experiment he did was on a stag. Hunter tied a string around the stag’s carotid artery. Through this experiment he demonstrated the concept of collateral circulation. When circulation was cut off in the antler by the tie, growth ceased but when the tie was taken off the growth continued. Hunter also did

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