Bones of contention: the decision to amputate in early modern Germany

The removal of a patient’s limb was the most radical procedure performed by early modern surgeons. It occurred only when a part of the body was considered lost to the “cold fire” (der kalte Brand) - a final, irreversible putrefaction. The harrowing experience held life-altering consequences for pati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hausse, Heidi (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Chicago Press [2016]
In: The sixteenth century journal
Year: 2016, Volume: 47, Issue: 2, Pages: 327-350
IxTheo Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBB German language area
Further subjects:B Amputation History
B Early Modern History
B Social Exchange
B Holy Roman Empire History
B Medicine Germany History
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:The removal of a patient’s limb was the most radical procedure performed by early modern surgeons. It occurred only when a part of the body was considered lost to the “cold fire” (der kalte Brand) - a final, irreversible putrefaction. The harrowing experience held life-altering consequences for patients and their families. By drawing on surgical treatises, correspondences, field manuals, and examination books, this article uncovers a process of negotiation that took place during diagnosis and prognosis in cases of the cold fire. Medical reasoning entered a volatile social space in order to determine the best course of action. The opinions of medical colleagues, patients, family members, friends, and even pastors were crucial to the formation of a shared consensus necessary to undertake a procedure. Amputation was a collective endeavor guided as much by communal concerns as by medical ones.
ISSN:0361-0160
Contains:Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal