Neurosurgical contributions of Samuel D. Gross

One of the most famous American Surgeons of the early 1800s was Samuel David Gross (1805-1884). His mastery of surgery was immortalized in Thomas Eakins' 1875 painting of Gross titled The Gross Clinic. Gross was a prolific surgeon and one of his textbooks, a System of Surgery, went through 6 editions. Not known to many is the fact that this book also covered neurosurgical diseases and techniques. Gross was a skilled surgeon and able writer. His textbooks on surgery were well received in his day. Moreover, he should be considered an early pioneer of neurosurgery as his System of Surgery is filled with neurosurgical diagnoses and neurosurgical techniques.