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USA / China: Peter Parker (1804-1888) was an American physician and a missionary who introduced Western medical techniques into Qing Dynasty China. Painting by Lam Qua (1801 - 1860)

USA / China: Peter Parker (1804-1888) was an American physician and a missionary who introduced Western medical techniques into Qing Dynasty China. Painting by Lam Qua (1801 - 1860)

In February 1834, Parker traveled to Canton (now Guangzhou), where he had the distinction of being the first full-time Protestant medical missionary to China. In 1835, he opened the Ophthalmic Hospital, which later became the Guangzhou Boji Hospital (the Canton Hospital). Parker specialized in diseases of the eye, including cataracts, and also resected tumors. Parker also introduced Western anesthesia in the form of sulphuric ether.

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