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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    Kat (tol hi^oOev eori bupifiaXXeLv avrov ti tu>v irapavKevao-fxevaiv Xztttov €tre apLCpiapLiXov, etre bmvp7]vov 6vo[xd(€Lv €0e'Aet9, et 8e rt \€TTTOT€pOV bij) Kdi fXT]X(i)TCba (ii. 581). 1 And in the double passage you must insert some one of the slender instruments you have at hand, either a double- ended probe (a { double olive ' if you prefer to call it so), or if something finer be necessary, even an ear probe.' In dealing with fistulae Paul (VI. lxxvii) says : ' We must first examine them with a sound if they be straight, or with a very flexible ' double olive' (dtirupTywa evKdfjLTrt'i), such as those made of tin or the smallest of those made of bronze, if they be crooked.' Paul refers to its use as a cautery to destroy the roots of hairs after epilation (VI. xiv): ' Some, preferring cauterizing to the operation of trans- plantation, evert the eyelid, and with a cilia forceps drag- ging out the offending hair, or two or even three hairs, apply a heated double-olive probe or an ear probe, or some such slender instrument, to the place from which the hair or hairs were removed' (AianvpLvov t) /jL-qXaoTiha ?/ rt tolovtov XeiTTov opyavov TitTivpanxtvov et/ootxrt tw roVa) 66tv rj 6pl£ rj at Tpfyts eKopiLcrOricrav). Here Briau reads irvprjva (an olivary point), but the balance of the evidence of the codices is in favour of biairvpLvov, and the parallel to the passage quoted from Galen is so complete that I have no hesitation in adopting the reading given above. I give an example of the dipyrene from my own collection. It is 11-2 cm. long. The shaft is unequally divided by a ringed fluting into two portions ; 4-5 cm. and 6-7 cm. long respectively. The shorter portion of the shaft is plain, the longer is grooved longitudinally by eight grooves (PI. XI, fig. 1). In many instances the dipyrene carried an eye in one of its olives. This variety is frequently mentioned. Thus Paul (VI. xxv) says, under treatment of nasal polypus : ' Taking then a thread moderately thick like a cord, and having tied knots on it at the distance of two or three finger-breadths, we introduce it into the eye of a dipyrene