[Apologies to those following my facebook acct because this will be similar.]
Today I visited the Old Operating Theater Museum which was part of St. Thomas' Hospital in the early 1800s. Certainly makes one glad for our current state of medicine, imperfect though it may be. The operating theater was tiny, lit by a skylight in day or by a two candle holder candelabra at night. The patient was given alcohol to sedate them and restrained during the procedure. The operating table was a wooden plank and the surgeon wore the same blue topcoat to every procedure. The "Rules" in some ways presage managed care in that you had to get well or get out..... And washing your hands before
operating was a novel idea
