Surgical instruments in Greek and Roman times / by John Stewart Milne.

  • Milne, John Stewart, 1871-
Date:
1907
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Surgical instruments in Greek and Roman times / by John Stewart Milne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    rotating the pistons these openings can be placed in apposi- tion or not at will, thus forming valves. Open valve A by placing the holes in apposition. Close valve B by turning the holes away from each other. The inner chamber of the cup is now shut off except for the small hole A. Apply the mouth to the valve A and suck the air out of the chamber. Close valve A. Apply the cup to the affected part. Open valve B and the negative pressure draws on the affected part. The advantage of this arrangement is that the affected part is not directly sucked upon by the mouth, and the instrument is therefore more pleasant for the operator to use. Bleeding cups occur on the coins of Epidaurus (300 b. c), Atrax (400 b. c.) and Aegale (200 b. a). Clysters. The ancients made frequent use of injections into the various orifices of the body. The apparatus used was a bladder or skin of an animal fixed to a tube. This form of instrument remained in use till the beginning of the nineteenth century, although the elaborate enema syringe, on the principle of the force pump, had been in use since the fifteenth century at least. The following passage from Heister (anno 1739) is interesting as showing exactly the method of its manipulation: PL XXXVII, fig. 3 machinam clysteri iniiciendo adaptam designat, qua Germani ut et Batavi vulgo utuntur. Litt. AA vesicam denotant cum liquore contento ; quae vero in adultis duplo vel triplo amplior quam hie indicatur esse solet, pro libra circiter, et quo D excedit, liquoris continenda; BB tubulum sive fistulam osseam ano immittendam, per quam liquor in intestina iniicitur; CC vinculum superius, quod, postquam fistula in ano est, solvitur ac removetur; DD vinculum inferius, quo vesica clauditur, ne liquor immissus elabi queat (vol. ii. p. 1117). The rectal apparatus is called by Galen kKvo-ttip, the uterine fjLr}TpeyxvT7is, and the bladder injector is called KaOerrip. In x. 328 we find all these three terms used in one paragraph: Es tclvtcl [xev yap bta kXvo-tt]pos eis [xrjTpav Se bia pLrjrpey\vTG)v