380 SURGERY 



There are many things which combine to explain the prominent 

 position which America has taken during the past century in the 

 consummation of this great work. Chief among them may be men- 

 tioned the innate courage which our Puritan ancestors possessed. 

 The undaunted bravery which enabled the people of the Mayflower, 

 and others of kindred heart and mind, to cross the great unknown 

 oceans and to settle in the primeval forest for the sake of liberty, 

 has infused itself into the American spirit and has qualified Amer- 

 icans to attempt and to perform daring deeds in surgery. There 

 is no science that calls for greater fearlessness, courage, and nerve 

 than that of surgery, none that demands more of self-reliance, 

 principle, independence, and determination in the man. These 

 were the characteristics which were chiefly conspicuous in the early 

 settlers of this country. And it is these old-time Puritan qualities, 

 which, descending to them in ordinary generation, have passed 

 into the surgeons of America, giving them boldness in their art, 

 and enabling them to win that success in surgery which now com- 

 mands the admiration of the civilized world. 



Permit me to sum up in a few words the wonderful achievements 

 of surgery during the century which has gone. What has this 

 great science, so young comparatively and yet so strongly and 

 splendidly developed, accomplished in its onward march? Among 

 the blessings which it has brought to the human race may be men- 

 tioned these: 



The annihilation of pain during surgical operation. 



The elimination of sepsis after operations and injuries. 



The eradication of physical suffering. 



The restoration of sight to the blind. 



The recovery of hearing to the deaf. 



The return of lost functions to organs and glands. 



The aseptic repair of injured parts. 



The relief of the crippled and lame. 



The restitution of speech and consciousness. 



The return of activity to paralyzed members. 



The removal of malignant disease. 



The restoration of reason to the insane. 



The correction of bodily deformities. 



The alleviation of pain in disease. 



The reaction from shock and collapse. 



The cure of lockjaw and other infective processes. 



The intervention of relief in intestinal perforation. 



The extirpation of tumors from glands and cavities. 



The cure of diseases and injuries of internal organs. 



The resection of diseased viscera. 



