Abstract

Theodor Kocher (1909), Alexis Carrel (1912), Antonio Egas Moniz (1949) and Joseph E. Murray (1990) received Nobel Prizes for their accomplishments in the field of surgery. This essay puts these achievements in the context of the history of surgery, in particular its recognition of a field of modern medicine. It characterizes the view of the body that is associated with modern surgery and the specific surgical healing strategy that the Nobel Prizes acknowledged.

Keywords: History of surgery; Nobel Prize; Thyroid surgery; Transplantation; Psychosurgery