Astley Cooper - Works

Works

Sir Astley's greatest contribution has probably been in the field of vascular surgery, particularly on cerebral circulation. He was the first to demonstrate experimentally the effects of bilateral ligation of the carotid arteries in dogs and to propose treatment of aneurysms by ligation of the vessel. In 1805 he published in the first volume of Medico-Chirurgical Transactions his attempt to tie the common carotid artery for treating an aneurysm in a patient. In 1808 he tried the same with the external iliac artery for a femoral aneurysm and in 1817 he ligated the aorta for an iliac aneurysm.

Cooper was an indefatigable and original anatomist and described several new anatomical structures, many of which were named after him:

  • Cooper's fascia, a covering of the spermatic cord.
  • Cooper's pubic ligament, the superior pubic ligament.
  • Cooper's stripes, a fibrous structure in the ulnar ligaments.
  • Cooper's ligaments, the suspensory ligaments of the breasts.

He also described a number of new diseases, which likewise became eponymous:

  • Cooper's testis (neuralgia of the testicles)
  • Cooper's disease (benign cysts of the breast)
  • Cooper's hernia (retroperitoneal hernia)
  • Cooper's neuralgia (neuralgia of the breast)

His chief published works were:

  • Anatomy and Surgical Treatment of Hernia (1804–1807);
  • Dislocations and Fractures (1822);
  • Lectures on Surgery (1824–1827);
  • Illustrations of Diseases of the Breast (1829);
  • Anatomy of the Thymus Gland (1832);
  • Anatomy of the Breast (1840).

He contributed articles to Rees's Cyclopaedia, undoubtedly on Surgery, but the topics are not known.

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