William Cheselden

William Cheselden (October 19, 1688 - April 10, 1752) was an English surgeon and teacher of anatomy and surgery, who was influential in establishing surgery as a scientific medical profession.

Works

Cheselden is famous for the invention of the lateral lithotomy approach to to remove bladder stones, which he first performed in 1727 and which had a short duration (minutes instead of hours) and a low mortality rate (less than 10%). Cheselden had already developed in 1723 the suprapubic approach, which he published in A Treatise on the High Operation for the Stone.

Related Topics:
Lithotomy - Bladder - 1727 - Mortality - 1723

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He also effected a great advance in ophthalmic surgery by his operation of iridectomy, described in 1728, for the treatment of certain forms of blindness by the production of an artificial pupil. Cheselden also described the role of saliva in digestion.

Related Topics:
Ophthalmic surgery - Iridectomy - 1728 - Blindness - Pupil - Saliva - Digestion

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He attended Sir Isaac Newton in his last illness, and was an intimate friend of Alexander Pope and of Sir Hans Sloane.

Related Topics:
Isaac Newton - Alexander Pope - Hans Sloane

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