Richard Wiseman

views updated

Richard Wiseman

1622?-1676

British surgeon who served as personal surgeon to King Charles II. Wiseman's greatest contributions were collected in Severall Chirurgical Treatises (1676). The work includes classic descriptions of tuberculosis of the joints (tumor albus) and scrofula ("the king's evil," or tuberculosis of the lymph glands), instructions for amputating above the injury, and accounts of successful urethrotomies and other operations. He increased the knowledge of gunshot wounds, cancer, ulcers, rectal disorders, urological diseases, fractures, dislocations, and sexually transmitted diseases.