kheirourgia

Kheirourgia, written in Greek as χειρουργία, is the branch of medicine that deals with operative procedures intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease and injury. In English, the term is commonly rendered as surgery and refers both to the discipline and to the set of procedures performed by surgeons.

Etymology: The word derives from the Greek cheir (hand) and ergon (work). A practitioner who performs such work is called a kheirourgós (surgeon).

History: Surgical concepts have ancient roots across civilizations. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, and Greek medical writers described operative techniques. In classical Greece, surgeons such as those referenced in the works of Hippocrates and Galen helped establish surgical methods, though the scope of surgery was modest by modern standards. The Middle Ages saw both advances and limits; from the 19th century onward, anesthesia, antisepsis, and imaging transformed the field, enabling more complex operations and specialization.

Practice and scope: Modern surgery includes general surgery and numerous subspecialties (e.g., orthopedic, cardiovascular, neurosurgery, plastic, thoracic). Surgical care spans preoperative assessment, anesthesia, the operation itself, and postoperative recovery, with emphasis on patient safety, ethics, and outcomes.

Education and professional status: Becoming a surgeon typically requires completion of a medical degree followed by a structured residency in a chosen surgical discipline, with ongoing board certification and continuing medical education. Training emphasizes knowledge of anatomy, physiology, instrumentation, sterilization, and patient management.