Images of Surgery is a curious site with a slew of historic and contemporary photographs and (sometimes bizarre) photo illustrations documenting surgery. The site is run by Alfred Feingold, MD, a retired anesthesiologist who has spent a decade taking photos in the operating room. From the site:
We refer to the operating room as the "operating theatre" for good reason. The surgeon has the leading role and personifies the heroic theme of the story. The nurses and the anesthesiologist play supporting roles. The audience, for whom the performance has been commissioned, lies motionless and without expression under the stupor of anesthesia.
With the audience asleep, the players take turns as protagonist and foil. The play lasts from several minutes to many hours. The form of the play varies from comedy to drama to tragedy. The complex colors and contours of human anatomy appear detached from the cold and aseptic landscape of the room. Bodies are shrouded with sheets and gowns. Lips and nostrils are covered with angular masks. The stage is dim except for the clusters of celestial lights illuminating the palette of vital colors and the learned hands of the surgeon. The visual story of the ongoing drama is told through the focus of the eyes, the twisting of hands, the contortion of bodies, and the reflections from metallic instruments. The surgeon cautiously probes the body's inner fabric with wonder and admiration.
