ABSTRACT
As a medical student, young Cooper carried out studies of the collateral circulation following ligation of the femoral and brachial arteries in dogs. His experimental work continued throughout his active professional life, and series of investigations were performed on the cerebral circulation in dogs. Cooper finally demonstrated that a dog could survive ligation of the abdominal aorta, although there was some weakness of the lower limbs. Moreover, before performing the operation, Cooper had carefully worked out its surgical anatomy; when it became obvious that ligation of the aorta was indicated, Cooper went to the post-mortem room, attempted to expose the aorta by a lateral retroperitoneal approach, found this to be impossible, and rehearsed a transperitoneal exposure. In his lecture notes, he ponders once more the possibility of a safer extraperitoneal exposure of the aorta.
