Crucial Interventions: An Illustrated Treatise on the Principles & Practice of Nineteenth-Century Surgery

by Richard Barnett

A beautifully illustrated look at the evolution of surgery, as revealed through rare technical illustrations, sketches, and oil paintings The nineteenth century saw major advances in the practice of surgery. In 1750, the anatomist John Hunter described it as “a humiliating spectacle of the futility of science”; yet, over the next 150 years the feared, practical men of medicine benefited from a revolution in scientific progress and the increased availability of instructional textbooks. Anesthesia and antisepsis were introduced. Newly established medical schools improved surgeons’ understanding of the human body. For the first time, surgical techniques were refined, illustrated in color, and disseminated on the printed page.

Crucial Interventions follows this evolution, drawing from magnificent examples of rare surgical textbooks from the mid-nineteenth century. Graphic and sometimes unnerving yet beautifully rendered, these fascinating illustrations, acquired from the Wellcome Collection’s extensive archives, include step-by-step surgical techniques paired with depictions of medical instruments and depictions of operations in progress.

Arranged for the layman (from head to toe) Crucial Interventions is a captivating look at the early history of one of the world’s most mysterious and macabre professions. Illustrated in color and black-and-white throughout

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Science, Medicine, Medical, Historical

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2015

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crucial Interventions is a beautifully presented treatise on medicine in the 19th Century. This hardcover collection of rare images is a worthwhile read.

I had recently been lamenting the lack of books available on 19th Century medicine, when lo and behold I found this newly arrived book. Barnett's short interstitial essays are easy to read and a good overview of medical practices in the era. My only criticism would be that I wanted more. My great desire is for a book which captures the physical sensation of being a medical practitioner in the era. However Barnett provides a good selection of literature to continue researching the period.

The book is exceptionally designed and very clear in the layout. The images are well-reproduced and I challenge anyone not to squirm perusing the section on eyes or genitals. Well, perhaps you won't if you're a medical student, but for the rest of us...

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dull, not exactly written in a captivating way. Still enjoyed it though, the short chapters made it perfect for reading before bed, and the pictures were beautiful and fascinating, although maybe a bit repetitive at times.

[cEe beE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, very informative and often gruesome read. Not for the faint of heart.

[Andrew Wiggins]

An absolutely nauseating book in exactly the right way. Can't stop myself.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting or as enlightening as I'd hoped. The illustrations were a bit gross but certainly not nightmare inducing.

[Adam Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully produced book on the principles and practice of 19th century surgery. There are a number of interesting articles on the recognition of surgeons as equal to physicians, which they originally were not, the introduction of anaesthetic for operations, the use of aseptic procedures in operating theatres etc. There are also a lot of eye-wateringly gruesome illustrations from the 19 century of operations done mostly without anaesthetic. The book is structured with chapters starting with operations on the head progressing down the body to the toes. The most painful illustrations are about two thirds of the way down.

[The Kawaii Slartibartfast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crucial Interventions

We've come a long way, baby. Never has this been made more apparent than in this completely horrifying book about surgical practices of yore.
Oh, yes! Full color illustrations of everything you can imagine going wrong with the human body. And the surgical instruments!
Its astounding anyone actually survived.
The illustrations are incredible and the text is informative.

[Karen Blanco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very beautifully depicted images of old school surgical procedures. The pictures were clean and clear, the history of surgery a beautiful backdrop to accompany the curious mind. I wish it had been more related to the particular pictures, sometimes the story behind them could have added more to the narrative.

[Giuliana Angotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolutely gorgeous read, probably the most well designed science book I’ve ever read. One needs no prior knowledge of anatomy, surgery, or medicine to go into this treatise, it’s incredible inviting and as beautiful as it is completely nightmarish at every turn.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found The Sick Rose by the same author/illustrator difficult to view (never mind read), this book was easier for me. Perhaps I'm simply more accustomed to pics of surgical anatomy.

[Ciarán · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book full of brilliant illustrations and nice insights into the history of surgery

[Dna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to skimmish this book, because it's an ILLO and I need to buy a copy so I can pore over the details. GORGEOUS. Fascinating content. The stuff about military advancements reeeeeeally excited me.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, with gorgeous illustrations of anatomy and surgery interventions. The content is clear, concise, easy to approach. A very « aesthetic » book indeed.

[LBD · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was amazing! Even though it didn’t provide much information I didn’t already knew, the way it’s structured is really clever, and the illustrations alone make it a worthwhile book.

[ᯓ ⁺₊ lau ♱ .ᐟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit harder to read than the sick rose, a beautiful book nevertheless!

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely not for the squeamish, but this is a stunning book. First, it's beautifully produced, with good matte-finish paper, quality printing, and a truly fine and solid binding. The bulk of the book is illustrations from 19th-century medical works, grouped by parts of the body, and they're really well reproduced. But the text is also really nice, with an introductory historical essay and then a series of topical "articles" interspersed with the sections of illustrations (topics are anaesthesia; antisepsis & the hospital; asepsis & the operating room; surgery & nursing; surgery & war; teaching & organizing surgery; surgery in 1900; and the patient's perspective). A few quibbles: some of the captions are as much as a couple of pages away from their illustrations (multiple overleafs and preceding pages), and in some cases I was really curious for more detail of just what was being shown. But there are four pages of further readings, sorted by topics, and the picture credits at the end are to the source publications if more detail is really desired.

[Domenica Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, the illustrations were very good. I wish there had been more text. Also, the caption page was such a small print that it was very difficult to read.