Sect. IV.] Surgery and Obstetrics. 37 1 



both in theory and practice. After the middle of tlie 

 century Mr. Percival Pott began to take a high 

 station among British surgeons, added greatly to 

 the progress of the art, and published many excel- 

 lent writings, which are still in the highest esteem. 

 The present professor Monro, of Edinburgh, ha.s 

 enriched surgery by many important additions to 

 the preceding stock of knowledge, which greatly 

 increase the lustre of his reputation. Late in the 

 century, about the year 1788, Mr. Benjamin Bell, 

 of Edinburgh, completed his Sxjslem of Surgery, 

 which vv^as compiled with much learning and dili- 

 gence, and exhibited an advantageous view of the 

 progress and improvements in surgery up to that 

 period. 



The particular improvements in surgery during 

 the late century are extremely important, and re- 

 flect great credit on the ingenuity and labours of 

 those by whom they were made; but they are like- 

 wise so numerous that only a iew of them can be 

 mentioned consistently with the necessary brevity 

 of this retrospect. 



The means of putting a stop to Hcemorrhages 

 from the division of the larger blood-vessels have- 

 been much improved during the i)eriod under con- 

 sideration. The hrst notices of the instrument for 

 this purpose,- called the Tourniquet, originated in 

 the seventeenth century. It is amazing that so 

 simple an instrument, and so obvious a mean of 

 compressing arteries, should have remained unknown 

 till that period. Surgery must have been in a <le- 

 plorable state of rudeness and imbecility, when no 

 operation of importance could be umlcrtaken on 



anv of the extremities but with the greatest d;iu- 



2 B J 



