Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with December 6.

Events

1735 — Claudius Amyand (c.1680-1740) performed the first recorded appendicectomy, excising a perforated appendix found within an inguinal hernia sac at St George’s Hospital, London.
Note: The eponym Amyand’s hernia refers to the vermiform appendix within an inguinal hernia sac (inflamed or not).

1850 — Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) provided the first public demonstration of the ophthalmoscope to the Berlin Physical Society, allowing direct viewing of the living retina.

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Births

1878 – Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson (1878-1937); described Wilson disease (1912)

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Deaths

1771 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771), Italian physician; described Foramen of Morgagni, and Morgagni hernia (1761). Provided early descriptions of Crohn’s disease (1761), and Stokes–Adams Attacks (1761)

1867 – Jean-Pierre-Marie Flourens (1794-1867), French physiologist; a founder of the field theory of brain function

1923 – Anton Julius Friedrich Rosenbach (1842-1923), German physician; described Rosenbach disease (1887)

2008 – Robert Frank Hustead (1928-2008), American anesthesiologist; refined epidural needle design (Husted needle), and helped establish obstetric and ophthalmic anaesthesia subspecialties

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Further reading

• Cadogan M. Eponymous Hernia. LITFL