Joseph Maclise’s (1815–1891) legacy to the surgical anatomy of the inguinal region

<b>Background.</b> The work of the anatomist surgeon Joseph Maclise has been forgotten by history. His contributions are unknown to younger generations. This study aims to analyze his legacy, focusing on the surgical anatomy of hernias. <b>Results.</b> This is the first study to analyze Maclise's work from a surgical, rather than an artistic, perspective, focusing on the pathology of hernias. His life was marked by a lack of academic and/or institutional recognition. He was forgotten by the Royal College of Surgeons a decade before his death. He collaborated with Morton on his treatise on surgical anatomy. His work was fundamental to the training of surgeons for at least three decades and served as a bridge between two continents. In the field of hernias, he simplifies knowledge for surgeons, shows each type of hernia in anterior and posterior approaches, and describes the region as a single space where all hernias appear. <b>Conclusion</b>. Maclise was an exemplary Victorian surgeon who cultivated many fields of practice (surgical anatomy, comparative anatomy and naturalism, experimental anatomy and physiology, embryology, art and painting), committed to the advancement of science in his time. His surgical anatomy of hernias facilitated the visual understanding of this pathology for surgeons of several generations.