ABSTRACT
Astley Paston Cooper (1768–1841) was an English surgeon and anatomist. He lectured at the Royal College of Surgeons and was surgeon to three consecutive monarchs. He discovered a range of diseases and anatomical structures – from Cooper’s disease (breast cysts) to Cooper’s ligaments (the ligaments of the breast). A dedicated teacher and learner, he claimed that there was ‘no short road to knowledge’ and was willing to admit his mistakes: ‘I have made many mistakes myself; in learning the anatomy of the eye I dare say, I have spoiled a hatfull; the best surgeon, like the best general, is he who makes the fewest mistakes’ ( 2 ).
