The surgical amphitheatre, history of its origins, functions, and fate

The Surgical Amphitheatre, patterned after the earlier model of Anatomists, came into being in the 17th century and served the purpose of teaching the anatomy of operation to surgeons, but without hospital connections. A great decline of student and visitor interest in viewing operations attended disappearance of the gambler's risk of operations, followed at the turn of this century by a lesser interest of medical students in attending surgical lectures, a circumstance that provoked consternation in the ranks of surgical teachers. The demise of the surgical amphitheatre as a suitable site for surgical teaching and viewing operations marked the beginnings of a gradual decline of influence of surgery in medical school faculties. Acceptance by reluctant surgeons of the inescapable microbiologic principle that silence of the entire Operating Team is mandatory, when operations are in process, will obviously erode further usefulness of the operating arena for instruction of medical students. Over the past decade, the current sharpened focus upon dispersion of medical care has served to de-emphasize in our medical faculties the post-World War II stress upon research for medicine's advance. A gradual decrease of student interest in surgery has occasioned medical faculties to question the justification of continuing surgery as a major curricular discipline for undergraduate medical students. Surgeons need to cultivate the intimate teacher-student relationship reflected in the practices of Pierre Louis and William Osler. A critical reassessment by professors of surgery of their teaching responsibilities should serve to indicate to medical students and their faculties that surgery has much important and useful information to impart, and that their professors are ready, prepared, and anxious to meet the challenge.