Surgery in Mexico

T he oldest representation of a physician in our country can be found at the Museo de Antropologia in Mexico City. It stands 9.5 cm tall and dates from 1500 BC. Little is known about surgery in our country before the appearance of the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Texoxotla-Ticitl was the surgeon of that time; he knew how to heal everyday diseases and injuries that resulted from the frequent wars. Surgical experience consisted mainly of draining superficial abscesses, which were then washed with urine and covered with lime and herbal medicine cataplasms. Suppurative mastitis was relieved by drainage with the use of obsidian knives, and these instruments were also used for circumcision and longitudinal penis mutilations, which were requirements for entry into the priesthood caste (300-800 AD). Pterygium surgery was performed with agave thorns.