Fletcher, H;
Martin, P;
(2025)
The Renaissance Wound Man: Parallels with today’s understanding of wound repair.
Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery
10.1016/j.bjps.2025.10.008.
(In press).
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Abstract
The image of the “Wound Man” first appeared in surgical texts from the late fourteenth century where it served as an illustrated guide to what medical practitioners might be called upon to treat. Across various incarnations, the Wound Man was depicted as suffering from wide-ranging injuries including cut and stab wounds, dog bites, thorn scratches, and insect stings. This article examines the figure of the Renaissance Wound Man, focusing in particular on the illustration featured in Hans von Gersdorff’s Feldtbuch der Wundartzney (Field Book of Wound Medicine) which was first published in 1517. Through our consideration of this image and its accompanying text, we explore the relationship between von Gersdorff’s early approaches to wound healing and modern treatment of wounds. Combining our expertise in sixteenth-century German medical practice and current scientific and clinical approaches, we discuss the differences and surprising similarities between the two. Von Gersdorff’s text reveals an early understanding of anesthesia/analgesia, debridement, inflammation reduction, infection prevention, wound scarring, and fracture management. We discuss each topic separately, considering how von Gersdorff’s advice relates to modern clinical practice and scientific understanding.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Renaissance Wound Man: Parallels with today’s understanding of wound repair |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.bjps.2025.10.008 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2025.10.008 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Renaissance; Wound Man; History; Surgery; Wound healing; Sixteenth-century Germany |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of History |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216181 |
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