The nineteenth century saw a complete transformation of the practice and reputation of surgery. Crucial Interventions follows its increasingly optimistic evolution, drawing from the very best examples of rare surgical textbooks with a focus on the extraordinary visual materials of the mid-nineteenth century. This book by Richard?Barnett explores the major transformation of surgical practice during the nineteenth century. It presents a rich collection of rare technical illustrations, sketches and paintings that chronicle the evolution of surgery from crude operations to a more systematic discipline. The work explains how innovations such as anaesthesia and antisepsis, improved anatomical understanding and printed manuals revolutionised surgery. With step-by-step diagrams, medical instruments and operations in progress, Crucial Interventions offers both a visual spectacle and historical insight into how surgical knowledge was communicated and institutionalised. Richard?Barnett is a British medical historian and writer, known for his works on the history of medicine, including The Sick Rose. He holds academic positions related to the history of science and medicine, and his interest lies in the visual culture of medical practices and their social ramifications.