| John Hunter of London (1728-1793) was the first surgeon scientist and intellectually explored the structure oand function of the body in almost every species available, leaving in excess of 50,000 specimens at his death. Inset right is an injeted specimen of fthe stomach from the Hunterian collection, the instruments in the foreground are of the type utilized to "sound" the esophagus. |
An 18th century British cartoon accurately attests t the wide public awareness and familiarity with the "Demon of Dyspepsia". Confusion as to the source of visceral pain led to the evolution of a nomenclature that confused the origin of the symptoms with the stomach, the heart , or even the brain. two centuries later, the basis of esophageal pain is a little understood now as it was then! |
