The reluctant surgeon

Since his death at the end of the eighteenth century John Hunter has been variously described by his fellow scientists as "the Shakespeare of medicine," "with the exception of Hippocrates, the grandest figure in his profession," "a philosopher whose mental grasp embraced the whole range of nature's works," "one of the greatest men the English nation has produced." Hunterian literature crowds the shelves of medical libraries the world over. Yet outside the scientific community the name today strikes only a dim spark of recognition, if any at all. The reason is not hard to find. Although his practical contributions were legion, none had the kind of dramatic impact, the easily grasped significance, that excites the lay imagination. What Hunter accomplished, however, transcended specific discovery and technical invention, and in its totality, was no less spectacular. He introduced a new spirit of inquiry, a philosophy, which not only transformed the medical theory and practice of his epoch, but profoundly influenced scientific thinking everywhere down to our own times. Hunter has not fared well at the hands of his biographers. This book is an effort to reclaim the scientist from the archives and the man from the shadows. -- from Preface.