1861
Broca reports on localization of speech.
1867
Lister introduces surgical antisepsis.
1870
Fritsch and Hitzig introduce cerebral localization by brain stimulation in
animals.
1884
Macewen and Godlee separately report removal of an intracranial tumor based
on neurological localization.
1887
Horsley is the first to successfully remove a spinal cord tumor.
1891
Horsley describes the surgical treatment for trigeminal neuralgia.
1892
Horsley introduces bone wax.
1898
Gigli describes a special saw for craniotomy.
1901
Cushing develops the anesthesia record for intraoperative monitoring of a patient.
1904
Cushing delivers paper on “the special field†of neurological surgery.
1908
Horsley and Clarke design a stereotactic device to study deep-brain structures
in animals.
1909
Cushing electrically stimulates the human sensory cortex.
1910
Publication of Medical Education in the U.S. and Canada by Flexner advances
academic medicine.
1910
Elsberg introduces the clinical application of insufflation anesthesia.
1911
Spiller and Martin introduce cordotomy for relief of pain.
1911
Cushing introduces the use of a clip for clipping aneurysms.
1914
Dandy and Blackfan conduct studies on hydrocephalus.
1918
Dandy introduces pneumo-ventriculography, revolutionizing the diagnosis of
hydrocephalus.
1919
Weed and McKibben introduce the use of IV hypertonic solutions to decrease
brain bulk.
1926
Moniz performs the first successful cerebral angiogram on a living patient.
1927
Cushing introduces electrosurgery (Bovie unit).
1928
Stookey describes cervical spinal stenosis.
1929
Fleming discovers penicillin.
1931
Cushing performs his 2,000th brain tumor operation.
1931
Kirschner introduces electro-coagulation of the gasserian ganglion for the
treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.
1933
Foerster defines sensory dermatomes in humans.
1934
Mixter and Barr define disc herniation as a clinical entity.
1936
Moniz publishes work on the first human frontal lobotomy.
1937
Dandy performs the first selective obliteration of an aneurysm.
1938
McKenzie becomes the first neurosurgeon to perform a hemispherectomy.
1947
Spiegel, Wycis, Marks and Lee introduce stereotactic techniques for operating
on the human brain.
1951
Leksell invents stereotactic radiosurgery.
1954
Charged-particle radiosurgery introduced at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
1955
Talairach constructs a stereotactic frame for transnasal procedures.
1956
Holter shunt introduces a reliable valve system for ventriculoperitoneal shunting.
1957
Penfield and Rasmussen devise motor and sensory homunculus.
1958
Cloward describes the anterior approach to the cervical spine.
1967
Hounsfield reconstructed the internal structure of a scanned object using a
computer, the forerunner of the computed tomography scan.
1968
Yasargil and Donaghy successfully perform extracranial-intracranial bypass
in a human.
1968
First Leksell Gamma Knife protoype for clinical research introduced.
1971
Damadian recognizes the diagnostic potential of nuclear magnetic resonance
imaging.
1972
Hounsfield develops X-ray computed tomography scan.
1976
The first magnetic resonance imaging scanner was built at Nottingham University
in England.
1976
Pilon and Baker report pain relief from intrathecal injection of local anesthetic
agents using an implantable pump.
1982
Magnetic resonance imaging is introduced.
1982
Gildenberg proposes idea of frameless stereotaxy.
1985
Linac-based radiosurgery described by Colombo.
1986
Roberts describes concept of frameless stereotaxy.
1994
Benabid reports stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus for patients with Parkinsonâs
disease.
1994
Endovascular training for neurosurgeons advocated by Hopkins.
1997
Cyberknife described by Adler.
2002
Minimally invasive spine surgery described by Fessler.
2004
First artificial lumbar disc approved for use in the general population in
the U.S.
2005
Temozolomide prolongs survival in patients with glioblastoma.
2009
Lozano and Rezai independently report relief of depression using deep brain
stimulation.
Foreseeable Events 2010-2050
- Nanoparticle localization precisely targets tumor cells.
- Craniospinal trauma becomes its own specialty.
- Brain-machine interface devices are commonly used for rehabilitation.
- Refined intrauterine neurosurgery is performed to correct fetal neurological pathology identified by predictive genetic screening.
- Individuals with engineering backgrounds predominate in advanced clinical and research areas of neurosurgery.
- Spinal surgery becomes its own specialty.
- Minimally invasive neurosurgical methods are used to manage obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and other disorders.
- Global information-communication network and professional organizations provide the impetus for continual progress in neurosurgery.
Portions of this timeline were previously published in the AANS Bulletin8(4), 1999, with updates contributed by Michael Schulder, MD, and prognostications from the cover story by Michael L.J. Apuzzo, MD.