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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    1). It is almost certain that the guard is quite a modern invention. Many ancient writers point out the danger of wounding the vein, but none mention the guard. Thus Celsus says: Horum extrema lingua vulsella prehendenda est, sub eaque membrana incidenda: magna cura habita ne venae quae iuxta sunt violentur et profusione sanguinis noceant (VII. xii). Paul says: ' The patient is to be placed in a proper seat, the tongue is to be raised to the roof of the mouth and the membranous fraenum cut transversely. But if the curvature is occa- sioned by a cicatrix we transfix the callus by a hook and draw it upwards, and making a cross incision free the bent parts, taking care not to make deep incisions of the parts, for haemorrhages, which have been found difficult to stop, have thereby been occasioned' (VI. xxix). Aetius gives a similar account. These writers, then, all take note of the possibility of wounding the vein, but give no clue that they knew of the utility of a cloven plate in preventing the accident. Further, the Arabs, timid operators all and fond of describing safeguards such as this, give no mention of it, although Albucasis, Rhases, Avicenna, and Haly Abbas all describe the operation. I can find no reference to the use of a guard for this purpose until quite recent times. Ear specillum. Greek, juqAorfc, -iSoy, /x^Xcorpi?, aTrvpofJLrfXrjj rfj -nvprjva fir} i-^ova-rj tovtzctti rfj jurjXcorpiSi (Galen, Lexicon); G)Toy\v(f)($, nr\\t]v igoiriba (Galen, Lexicon); Latin, oricularium specil- lum (Celsus); auriscalpium (Scrib. Largus); German, Ohrloffel. Of all the specilla this is one of the most frequently mentioned by name. It consists of a small narrow scoop at one end and a simple probe without olivary enlargement at