A Practical System of Surgery: by James Latta, . Illustrated With Cases on Many of the Subjects, and With Copperplates. in Three Volumes

A Practical System Of Surgery: By James Latta. James Latta's substantial early edition offers a practical, case-filled survey of late-18th-century surgery. The work covers core surgical arts and their complications, from bloodletting and phlebotomy to arterial ligature, aneurysm, and the management of inflammations such as phlegmon, erysipelas, and gangrene. It blends theoretical guidance with copious case histories illustrated by copperplates. Volume I (1793) opens with a detailed discussion of bloodletting, including vein and artery approaches, topical bleeding, cupping, leeches, scarifications, and the management of complications and accidents. It proceeds to the opening of abscesses, methods of drainage, sutures and the different fashions of securing wounds, and the ligature of arteries. The book then turns to diseases of the penis, hydroceles, hernias, and bladder stones (lithotomy and high-lateral operations). Across chapters Latta emphasizes operative technique, instrument selection, patient posture, risk management, and the duty to avoid needless procedures while aiming to relieve pain and restore function. The text reflects the era’s reliance on empirical cases to teach surgical craft.