Introduction:

It is necessary to know the history of surgery, in general, and herniology, in particular, in order to understand better the enormous advances experienced in these disciplines. Many of the modern surgical techniques are based on the knowledge and experiences contributed by the first surgeons, but it was not until the disclosure of the work of the French Eduardo Bassini, in 1889, that the impetuous development of inguinal hernia surgery began to scale worldwide. Among the most notable inguinal hernia repairs, in addition to that of Bassini, are those of McVay, Halsted, Shouldice and tension-free hernioplasty, popularized by Lichtenstein.

Objective:

To deepen the cognitive aspects related to the historical foundations of the diagnosis and treatment of inguinal hernia, its evolution and application in current surgery.

Method:

Digital bibliographic review of publications updated in the databases SciELO, Latindex, Elsevier, PubMed, Medline and Web of Science and Google Scholar.

Conclusions:

Surgery for hernias in general, and particularly for inguinal hernias is never routine. They must be individualized to the characteristics of each patient and the resources available. The future of hernia surgery can only be understood if it is associated with the knowledge of its historical foundations, the deep mastery of topographic anatomy and a careful surgical technique.

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