Editing 1731 in science (section)

==Medicine==
* September – The first successful [[appendectomy]] is performed by English surgeon William Cookesley.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A considerable share of the intestines cut off after a mortification in a hernia and cured|journal=Medical Essays and Observations|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge|volume=5|issue=1|year=1742|pages=427–31}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter|last=Selley|title=William Cookesley, William Hunter and the first patient to survive removal of the appendix in 1731 – a case history with 31 years' follow up|journal=Journal of Medical Biography|volume=24|year=2016|pages=180-3}}</ref>
* [[Laura Bassi]] becomes the first official female university teacher on being appointed professor of [[anatomy]] at the [[University of Bologna]] at the age of 21.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 18th Century Women Scientists of Bologna|url=http://scienceweek.com/2004/rmps-4.htm|work=ScienceWeek|year=2004|accessdate=2011-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302045409/http://scienceweek.com/2004/rmps-4.htm|archive-date=2012-03-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The  [[Royal Society of Edinburgh|Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge]] in [[Edinburgh]] begins publication of the [[peer review]]ed ''Medical Essays and Observations''.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Benos, Dale J.|title=The ups and downs of per review|url=http://advan.physiology.org/content/31/2/145.full.pdf+html|journal=Advances in Physiology Education|volume=31|pages=145–152|year=2007|doi=10.1152/advan.00104.2006|pmid=17562902|issue=2|accessdate=2011-08-30|display-authors=etal|url-access=subscription}}</ref>