[Development of surgery in the 20th century]

The 100-year history of the Japan Surgical Society (JSS) spanned the 20th century. The first congress of the JSS was held in 1899 in Tokyo. In Japan, many specialist surgery societies and several closely related to surgery were established in the latter half of the 20th century although both the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery and the Japan Neurosurgical Society were founded before that in 1948. Significant advances in the field of surgery were witnessed in the second half of the 20th century in Japan as well as in other countries. The progress in biotechnology and medical engineering in the latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st will result in remarkable change in the field of surgery in the future. Significant changes in postgraduate and continuing education and training of surgeons will also be necessary to ensure that surgeons and surgical researchers adhere strictly to bioethical standards.