Gross, Samuel David (1805–1884)

US surgeon and author. He had an international reputation as both a teacher and practitioner of surgery, and was a prolific translating and writing several important works on anatomy and surgery. His books included Elements of Pathological Anatomy (1839) and System of Surgery, Pathological, Diagnostic, Therapeutic and Operative (1859). His specialities included operations for bladder stone and intestinal wounds; he invented new techniques and instruments for these procedures. He was one of the founders and most influential members of the American Medical Association (1847).

Gross was born near Easton, Pennsylvania. After taking his MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he set up practice in Philadelphia. He taught at Cincinnati Medical College and the University of Louisville before returning to Jefferson Medical College as professor of surgery (1856–82). Thomas Eakins portrayed him in a famous painting, The Clinic of Dr. Gross (1875).