John Hunter. Portrait of the Scottish surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-1793). He is seen with anatomy books and various medical specimens. Hunter studied surgery in London before serving as a surgeon in Portugal during the Seven Years' War. In his A Treatise on the Blood, Inflammation and Gunshot Wounds he wisely argued that bullets lodged in the body should be left alone unless endangering life. His dissections of over 500 species and numerous human cadavers led to important findings on blood circulation, teeth and digestion. Hunter is regarded as the founder of scientific surgery. This portrait is after one by the artist Joshua Reynolds.