that “letting of the blood” would hasten the return of speech. For the man
who unlocked the secrets of circulation, the mysteries of cerebral
hemorrhage and stroke were still profound, and the barbaric gashing of his
tongue “did little or no good ... so he ended his dayes [sic].”^44
John Hunter ostensibly died of a heart attack in a hospital, which today
would surely result in a “rapid response” by a team of lifesaving
physicians, nurses, and technicians in almost any advanced medical center
in the world. While no treatment was available to Hunter as he rapidly
died, no pointless Galenic treatment was foisted upon his hapless soul. The
“Founder of Scientific Surgery,” as is inscribed over his grave at
Westminster Abbey, had revolutionized anatomy, education, and surgical
science, thus raising surgery from a shameful diversion to a profession
with a future.