Macmillan Malcolm
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
J Hist Neurosci. 2004 Dec;13(4):297-325. doi: 10.1080/09647040490881659.
Neurosurgery for the removal of brain tumours based on localising signs is usually dated from the 1884 operation by Bennett and Godlee. However, within weeks of that operation claims were made on behalf of William Macewen, the Glasgow surgeon, to have been the real pioneer of such surgery. According to Macewen's protagonists, he had conducted seven similar operations earlier than Bennett and Godlee and, in a notable 1888 address, Macewen described these seven pre-1884 cases and a number of others operated on after 1884. This paper, which is in two parts, contains an evaluation of the claims made for the priority of Macewen's pre-1884 operations. Part I deals mainly with Macewen's work in fields other than brain surgery that are relevant to it and sets out the facts of the controversy. It begins with a brief biography of Macewen, describes his pioneering work in antiseptic and aseptic surgery, his work on osteotomy and bone regeneration, and his use in brain surgery of the knowledge so gained. Part I concludes with an examination of the battle waged in the newspapers between Macewen's and Bennett's and Godlee's supporters, and of previously unpublished correspondence between Macewen himself, David Ferrier and Hughes Bennett. The primary records of the patients on whom Macewen operated, together with other materials relevant to the controversy, are examined in Part II.
基于定位体征进行脑肿瘤切除的神经外科手术通常可追溯到1884年贝内特和戈德利的手术。然而，在那次手术几周内，格拉斯哥外科医生威廉·麦克斯韦恩的支持者宣称他才是此类手术的真正先驱。据麦克斯韦恩的支持者称，他比贝内特和戈德利更早进行了七次类似手术，并且在1888年一次引人注目的演讲中，麦克斯韦恩描述了这七例1884年之前的病例以及1884年之后进行手术的其他一些病例。本文分为两部分，对麦克斯韦恩1884年之前手术优先权的说法进行了评估。第一部分主要论述麦克斯韦恩在脑外科以外但与之相关领域的工作，并阐述了争议的事实。它首先简要介绍了麦克斯韦恩的生平，描述了他在防腐和无菌外科方面的开创性工作、他在截骨术和骨再生方面的工作，以及他将由此获得的知识应用于脑外科手术的情况。第一部分最后考察了麦克斯韦恩和贝内特以及戈德利的支持者在报纸上展开的争论，以及麦克斯韦恩本人、大卫·费里尔和休斯·贝内特之间此前未发表的信件。第二部分对麦克斯韦恩所做手术患者的原始记录以及与争议相关的其他材料进行了研究。
