Woodcut, 1564. Hand with mechanical apparatus. Ambroise Par矇 (1510-1590) was a French surgeon, anatomist and inventor. He was royal surgeon for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III and is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology. He was a leader in surgical techniques and pioneered modern battlefield wound treatment. Battlefield medicine is the treatment of wounded soldiers in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first developed to treat the wounds inflicted during combat. Par矇 introduced the ligature of arteries instead of cauterization during amputation. He believed that phantom pains occurred in the brain. He contributed to the practice of surgical amputation and the design of limb prostheses. He died in 1590 from natural causes.