Skip to main content

John Hunter was a giant in the natural sciences and medicine (Fig. 1). His overall contributions to the basic and clinical neurosciences were substantial but are little known. One reason is because as a “naturalist” Hunter’s underlying emphasis was upon the greater understanding of life itself, including paleontology and geology. His main interests were in the philosophy of life and nature, and he was one of the few in England at that time who took a really comprehensive view of these phenomena. Essentially a novel thinker rather than a studious scholar, he extensively utilized both inductive and deductive methods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abernethy, J. (1825). Physiological lectures. A general view of Mr. Hunter’s physiology and of his researches in comparative anatomy. Hartford, England: Cooke & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, E. (1974). Hunterian museum. London: Royal College of Surgeons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, E., Turk, J. L., & Murley, R. (1993). The casebooks of John Hunter FRS. New York: Parthenon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, W. J. (1951). Surgery of the autonomic nervous system. In: Walker, A. E. (Ed.). A history of neurological surgery (pp. 428–450). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baillie, M. (1793). The morbid anatomy of some of the most important parts of the human body (pp. 288–314). London: Johnson and Nicol.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baillie, M. (1802). A series of engravings with explanations to illustrate the morbid anatomy of some of the most important parts of the human body. Fascicle # 10, Disease Appearances of the cranium, the brain and its membranes. London: Bulmer & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballance, C. A. (1922). A glimpse into the history of the surgery of the brain (pp. 60–67). London: Macmillan & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blane, G. (1800). History of some cases of disease in the brain, with an account of the appearances upon examination after death, and some general observations on complaints of the head. Transactions of the Society for Improvement of Medical and Chirurgical Knowledge, 2: 192–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull, J. (1962). A short history of intracranial aneurysms. London Clinical Medical Journal, 3: 47–61.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bynum, W. F. (1996). Science and the practice of medicine in the nineteenth century (pp. 5, 14). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Compston, A. (1999). The convergence of neurological anatomy and pathology in the British Isles: 1800–1850. In: F. C. Rose (Ed.), A short history of neurology: The British contribution 1660–1910 (pp. 36–57). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, J. (1820). A treatise on nervous diseases (Vol. 1). On apoplexy. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke, J. (1821). History and method of cure of the various species of palsy. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, J. (1969). John Hunter. Edinburgh: E & S Livingstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flamm, E. S. (1992). Percivall Pott: An 18th century neurosurgeon. Journal of Neurosurgery, 76: 319–326.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fulton, J. F. (1946). Harvey Cushing. A biography (p. 303). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Home, E. (1800). An account of an uncommon tumour formed in one of the axillary nerves. Transactions of the Society for Improvement of Medical & Chirurgical Knowledge, 2: 152–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulke, J. W. (1895). John Hunter the biologist. British Medical Journal, 1: 405–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1778). A practical treatise on the diseases of the teeth–A supplement to the natural history of human teeth. London: J. Johnson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1794). A treatise on the blood, inflammation, and gun-shot wounds. London: John Richardson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1835). In J. F. Palmer (Ed.), The works of John Hunter F.R.S. (Vol. I). London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1837a). In J. F. Palmer (Ed.), The works of John Hunter F.R.S. (Vol II–IV). London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1837b). In J. F. Palmer (Ed.), The works of John Hunter F.R.S., PLATES. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1861a). In R. Owen (Ed.), Essays and observations on natural history, anatomy, physiology, psychology, and geology (Vol. I). London: John Van Voorst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. (1861b). In R. Owen (Ed.), Essays and observations on comparative anatomy (Vol. II). London: John Van Voorst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacyna, S. (1992). Physiological principles in the surgical writings of John Hunter. In C. Lawrence (Ed.), Medical theory, surgical practice. studies in the history of surgery (pp. 135–152). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keith, A. (1919). The orthopaedic principles of John Hunter. In A. Keith (Ed.), Menders of the maimed (pp. 1–17). London: Oxford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobler, J. (1960). The reluctant surgeon. A biography of John Hunter. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liddell, E. G. T. (1960). The discovery of reflexes. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, W. (2005). The knife man. The extraordinary life and times of John Hunter, father of modern surgery. New York: Broadway Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, H. (1909). John Hunter as a philosopher. British Medical Journal, 1: 445–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuburger, M. (1897/1981). In E. Clarke (Ed.), The historical development of experimental brain and spinal cord physiology before Flourens. 1981 reprint. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottley, D. (1835). The life of John Hunter. In J. F. Palmer (Ed.), The works of John Hunter F.R.S. (pp. xxi–xxiv, 1–188). London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen, R. (1837/1992). In P. R. Sloan (Ed.), The Hunterian lectures in comparative anatomy. May and June, 1837, 1992 reprint. Chicago: University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen, R. (1837). Preface to observations on certain parts of the animal oeconomy, by John Hunter F. R. S. In J. F. Palmer (Ed.), The works of John Hunter F.R.S. (Vol. IV, pp. xvi–xviii). London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen, R. (1866). On the anatomy of vertebrates. Vol I. Fishes and reptiles. London: Longmans, Green, & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paget, S. (1897). John Hunter. Man of science and surgeon 1728–1793. London: T. Fisher Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. J. (1839–1840). John Hunter, F.R.S., medical portrait gallery (Vol. 2, pp. 1–14) London: Fisher Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qvist, G. (1981). John Hunter 1728–1793. London: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J. L., & Hockley, A. D. (2002). Percivall Pott and the miners of Cornwall. British Journal of Neurosurgery, 16: 501–506.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Stone, J.L., Goodrich, J.T., Cybulski, G.R. (2007). John Hunter's Contributions to Neuroscience. In: Whitaker, H., Smith, C.U.M., Finger, S. (eds) Brain, Mind and Medicine: Essays in Eighteenth-Century Neuroscience. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-70967-3_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics