Surgical and medical treatment in art A. E. H. Emery, M. L. H. Emery. UK: Royal Society of Medicine Press price £45, pp 138 ISBN

1853156957

This intriguing book is a series of 66 beautifully reproduced art plates each accompanied by an explanatory essay of the surgical, medical or dental procedure illustrated.

Each chapter takes the reader through history, starting from the Nineteenth Dynasty in Egypt in about 1275BC and ending with a stylised painting by the present day artist Ken Currie depicting three oncologists in 2002. Many eminent artists' works are printed including Leonardo da Vinci, van Rijn, Hans Holbien the Younger in the middle ages, through to Bazille, Eakins, Toulouse-Lautrec, Stanley Spencer, L. S. Lowry and Susan MacFarlane of more modern eras.

Two chapters (26 and 56) are of particular interest to the dentist. The 'Tooth Puller' is the seventeenth century painting by Theodor Rombouts in Antwerp, a painter who was influenced by Caravaggio in Rome. This extremely detailed picture illustrates an extraction procedure by what is assumed to be an itinerant dentist. The dramatic and skilful use of lighting effects, clearly learned from Caravaggio, highlight the patient and the operator while the detail of the instruments is exquisite.

The second dental chapter is a painting by Edouard Vuillard in Paris in 1936 of Dr Louis Viau, a dental practitioner of that city. Again the detail is extraordinary, illustrating an early x-ray machine, an electric drill and the dental chair facing a large window to use the natural light. The ornaments, carpets and bookcase give an atmosphere of warmth and competence reassuring to the patients.

Of further particular interest to the dental reader are four chapters illustrating early general anaesthesia in 1841 and 1882, early antiseptic procedures controlling post operative complications and the early use of hypnotism around 1830.

The authors are not afraid of controversy as shown by the reproduction of an advert for tobacco by Rel Ramos (1965) which is exhibited in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. However the adjacent essay does indicate the now accepted risks associated with smoking.

This book, the second by the authors following Medicine and art, does not impose conclusions but poses questions and stimulates thoughts about the development of various procedures. The index is particularly useful as it advises the reader of other historical pictures relevant to medical and allied subjects including references to 24 paintings relating to dentistry, and where they may be viewed.

Anyone interested in the history of dentistry, medicine, surgery, or art will find this volume a valuable addition to the browser shelf of their bookcase.