From history of proctology

Abstract

The authors of this paper presented the key moments in the development of proctology, a medical discipline which is an integral part of surgery, whose development path was inseparable from the historical development of operational medicine. Even in the ancient Egypt, proctology was an important branch of medicine. Out of eight of so far known medical papyri in the history of proctology, the most important one is the Beatty`s (Chester Beatty) papyrus from the 13th century BC, which is actually a short monograph on diseases of the anus and their treatment. In the ancient period, operative proctology reached the highest level in the time of Hippocrates. In detail, and with special care, the operative procedures of the large intestine, primarily perianal fistula and hemorrhoids were described in the Hippocratic writings. One of the most famous Roman medical writers, Celsus (Cornelius Celsus Asullus) described the surgery of hemorrhoids by their ligature and the surgery of anorectal fistula in two ways: ligation of the fistula channel by string of raw flax and fistula incision through the probe placed through the fistula channel. Doctors of the 18th and the 19th century introduced into practice some more complicated surgical procedures in the treatment of anorectal diseases. The French surgeons were the leaders. In 1710, Littre performed, for the first time, anus praeter naturalis and Jacques Lisfranc (1790-1847) pioneered the method of perineal resection of the rectum for cancer. The first rectoscope was constructed in 1895 and in 1903 it was introduced into practice by Kelly (Kelly Howard Atwood). A sudden progress in the diagnosis and treatment of anorectal diseases occurred after the Second World War and the trend has continued to this day.