The students at Edinburgh were privileged to attend lectures by such medical immortals as the 18th century’s most noted experimental surgeon, John Hunter, 13 February 1728 – 16 October 1793,  who gave private lectures outside the University of Edinburgh. Hunter was an excellent anatomist; his knowledge and skill as a surgeon was based on sound anatomical background. Among John Hunter’s numerous contributions to medical science are: the study of human teeth, the extensive study of inflammation, outstanding work on gun-shot wounds, some pioneering work on venereal diseases, studies on the nature of digestion, and verifying that fats are absorbed into the lacteals, a type of small intestine lymphatic capillary, and not into the intestinal blood capillaries as was generally accepted.