Modern surgery has a vast range of techniques to treat diseases in man. One of the main factors in its development was the discovery of anesthetic, the science of making pain disappear.

In 1850 the American dentist Horace Wells discovered the anesthetic properties of ‘laughing gas’ and became the founder of a new science. It became possible for lengthy operations to be carried out on patients without their feeling any pain at all.

During the first half of the twentieth century surgery often achieved results that were almost miraculous. Harvey Cushing, an American neurosurgeon, was one of the first men to open the human skull and perform brain surgery on tumours, abscesses and other disorders. Another American, A. Blalock, was one of the first surgeons to operate of the heart. This is a branch of surgery where major developments have occurred, leading to the heart transplants of today. Plastic surgery can now work wonders and rebuild new faces for persons who have been disfigured in serious accidents.