The Early Days of Gall Bladder Surgery

Abstract

Gall stones have been found in ancient Egyptian mummies, and have presumably caused symptoms and suffering since the early days of mankind. ‘Inflammation of the liver’ was well recognised by the Greeks, and, in many cases, might well have represented attacks of biliary colic. Giovanni Morgagni, Professor of Anatomy in Padua, and regarded as one of the fathers of modern pathology, described, in 1761, 20 autopsies in which gall stones were found.