The Early Days of Splenectomy

Abstract

For centuries the function of the spleen was widely debated. Vesalius, while Professor of Anatomy in Padua in the first part of the 16th century, is reported to have removed the spleen in living animals and to have shown that this was consistent with survival. An English surgeon, Timothy Clark reported in 1663 that he had removed the spleen of a stray dog, that the animal lived in good health for a year following this, and was ‘subsequently enthusiastic in its pursuit of sexual activity’.