david11
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Tamil
- Home Country
- India
- Current Location
- India
Today, I have read this interesting information in a reputed newspaper. I just want to share this with other members here.
(Credits; The Hindu dated 30/10/12.)
Why is the ‘surgery room’ in hospitals referred to as ‘operation theatre’?
When we hear the word ‘theatre’, we immediately think of a building in which we watch a film or a play. The word comes from the Greek ‘theatron’ meaning ‘a place for viewing’. So why is the sterile room which no outsider is allowed to enter called a ‘theatre’? Several centuries ago, a surgery was a spectacle that many people went to see. Surgeons carried out their task in the open, in a non-sterile environment — usually in an amphitheatre. Sitting a few feet from the operating table would be medical students and interested participants watching the surgery in progress. Even today, in teaching hospitals, it is standard practice for students watch surgeries from galleries situated at a higher level than the ‘operation theatre’.
(Credits; The Hindu dated 30/10/12.)
Why is the ‘surgery room’ in hospitals referred to as ‘operation theatre’?
When we hear the word ‘theatre’, we immediately think of a building in which we watch a film or a play. The word comes from the Greek ‘theatron’ meaning ‘a place for viewing’. So why is the sterile room which no outsider is allowed to enter called a ‘theatre’? Several centuries ago, a surgery was a spectacle that many people went to see. Surgeons carried out their task in the open, in a non-sterile environment — usually in an amphitheatre. Sitting a few feet from the operating table would be medical students and interested participants watching the surgery in progress. Even today, in teaching hospitals, it is standard practice for students watch surgeries from galleries situated at a higher level than the ‘operation theatre’.
