A stout heart and a sharp knife.

Five-part documentary series on some of the pioneers of modern surgery, combining archive footage, dramatic reconstructions, and interviews with surviving witnesses and participants. Part 1: A Stout Heart and a Sharp Knife. Shows how, between c.1830 and the inter-war years, the successive introduction of anaesthesia, antiseptic and aseptic surgical procedures and effective blood transfusion opened up hitherto undreamt-of possibilities for successful surgical intervention.