GASTRECTOMY

Abstract

After a fairly exhaustive review of the literature on subtotal and total gastrectomy, it would appear that credit for having first conceived the idea of resection operations on the stomach must be given to "a certain famous professor, highly respected and renowned among the medical profession of Philadelphia." This statement is based on the authority of Merrem of Giessen who, in 1810, contributed a monograph entitled "Certain Surgical Operations and Experiments on Animals Illustrated by Facts." In his monograph, Merrem referred to this famous Philadelphia professor without mentioning his name or giving the source of his information. Having consulted all available authorities, including the Surgeon-General's library in Washington, the libraries of The College of Physicians in Philadelphia and the New York Academy of Medicine, we have not as yet found any other record of this epoch-making work by this distinguished surgeon. The idea of this operation was suggested to this