Surgery and Surgeons Quiz

The ancient Greek physician, Herophilus, is considered the "Father of Anatomy" for his significant contributions to anatomical studies through the use of human dissection.

The word "surgery" originates from the Greek words "chir" and "urgiae", meaning "hand" and "work", respectively. This reflects the hands-on nature of surgical procedures.

Clamps were used to control bleeding and hold wounds closed, sutures were used to stitch tissues together, and cauterization involved burning with heat to seal wounds and prevent infection.

Greek surgeons used wine to cleanse wounds, believing its properties could help in healing and preventing infection. While it doesn't sterilize, wine's alcohol content could have some antimicrobial effect.

Galen dissected animal bodies, particularly apes, to make anatomical observations. He aimed to understand the human body, but his knowledge was limited due to restricted access to human cadavers.

Sterilization is the complete elimination of all microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores. Disinfection destroys most pathogenic microorganisms on non-living objects, but not all.

Antisepsis aims to eliminate or reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms on living surfaces, like skin, to prevent infection.

Cleaning involves physically removing surface contaminants like dirt, debris, or blood through scrubbing and wiping, while disinfection seeks to destroy microorganisms that might remain.

Common disinfectants include compounds like phenol and its derivatives, alcohols (like ethanol and isopropanol), halides (like chlorine), and aldehydes (like formaldehyde).

Sterilization is crucial for preventing infection and ensuring patient safety because it eliminates all microorganisms, including those that may cause serious illnesses when introduced into the body.