Blood and guts: a history of surgery. Part 5, Bloody beginnings.

The last in a 5-part series in which Michael Mosley traces the evolution of surgery as it progressed, in his words, from butchery to brilliance. This part features the very beginnings of surgery from the anatomical research of Vesalius to blood letting. How to stem blood loss from wounds was a major discovery by Ambroise Pare in the 16th century when he introduced the ligature. Mosley undergoes hypnotherapy and experiments with alcohol and compares them as means of coping with pain. James Young Simpson's experiments with ether and other forms of anaesthesia are covered as is the research of John Snow who invented the chloroform inhaler. Ignaz Semmelweis discovered how important hygiene was when treating patients and encouraged hand-washing to the hilarity of his medical colleagues as he had no explanation of how germs or bacteria caused potentially fatal infections. However, his work clearly paved the way for Joseph Lister to introduce sterilisation and hygiene in the operating theatre, thus saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year.