the Steam Steriliser to sterilize equipment, instituted rigorous hand washing and later implemented the wearing of rubber gloves. These three crucial advances – the adoption of a scientific methodology toward surgical operations, the use of anaesthetic and the introduction of sterilised equipment – laid the groundwork for the modern invasive surgical techniques of today. The use of X-rays as an important medical diagnostic tool began with their discovery in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen. He noticed that these rays could penetrate the skin, allowing the skeletal structure to be captured on a specially treated photographic plate. Surgical specialties General surgery Breast Cardiothoracic Colorectal Craniofacial surgery Dental surgery Endocrine Gynaecology Neurosurgery Ophthalmology Oncological Oral and maxillofacial surgery Transplant Orthopaedic surgery Hand surgery Otolaryngology Paediatric (Pediatric) Plastic Podiatric surgery Skin Trauma Urology Vascular Learned societies World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies American College of Surgeons American College of Osteopathic Surgeons American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Royal College of Surgeons of England See also – for outpatient surgical procedures medical coding – a family of health care databases etc. from the US (International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition, Procedural Coding System; inpatient surgical procedures medical coding) List of surgical procedures Women in medicine List of Surgery-related fields Bariatric surgery Cardiac surgery Cardiothoracic surgery Colorectal surgery Endocrine surgery Ophthalmology General surgery Neurosurgery Oral and maxillofacial surgery Orthopedic surgery Hand surgery Otolaryngology Pediatric surgery Plastic surgery Reproductive surgery Surgical oncology Transplant surgery Trauma surgery Urology Andrology Vascular surgery Notes References Further reading Bartolo, M., Bargellesi, S., Castioni, C. A., Intiso, D., Fontana, A., Copetti, M., Scarponi, F., Bonaiuti, D., & Intensive Care and Neurorehabilitation Italian Study Group (2017). Mobilization in early rehabilitation in intensive care unit patients with severe acquired brain injury: An observational study. Journal of rehabilitation medicine, 49(9), 715–722. https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-2269 Ni, C.-yan, Wang, Z.-hong, Huang, Z.-ping, Zhou, H., Fu, L.-juan, Cai, H., Huang, X.-xuan, Yang, Y., Li, H.-fen, & Zhou, W.-ping. (2018). Early enforced mobilization after liver resection: A prospective randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Surgery, 54, 254–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2018.04.060 Lei, Y. T., Xie, J. W., Huang, Q., Huang, W., & Pei, F. X. (2021). Benefits of