Surgery in prehistoric times -- The early years of written history : Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, China and India -- Surgery in ancient Greece and Rome -- The Dark Ages and the Renaissance -- The age of the surgeon-anatomist : part 1-from the mid 16th century to the end of the 17th century -- The age of the surgeon-anatomist : part 2-from the beginning of the 18th century to the mid 19th century -- The advent of anaesthesia and antisepsis -- The birth of modern surgery from Lister to the 20th century -- The surgery of warfare -- Orthopaedic surgery -- Breast tumours -- Cutting for the stone -- Thyroid and parathyroid -- Thoracic and vascular surgery -- Organ transplantation -- A history of surgery.