A biography of Connecticut surgery.

I n 1635, at the founding of Connecticut, there were no physicians in the state. The native Americans had their shamans, and the first colonists relied on their most educated men, the ministers of the churches. The era of the cleric-physician endured through colonial times. These individuals, with their degrees in divinity, their intellects, their libraries, and the respect of their followers, tended to the medical needs of their communities.