A system of practical surgery / by William Fergusson.

  • William Fergusson
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of practical surgery / by William Fergusson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/878 (page 6)
    the sketch is such as I prefer, and the length should be about five inches and a fourth. It will be afterwards found that I seldom recom- mend scissors for any operation when the knife may be used instead; but they are useful in a variety of ways in Fig. 5. almost every occasion of the kind, and in cutting ligatures, stitches, straps, bandages, &c. they are indispensable. Some deem these instruments best adapted for certain operations, and I shall therefore refer to them again at fitting opportunities. There are various shapes of scissors, and for ordinary surgical purposes I prefer an- other kind, exhibited a few pages further on. The straight blades and sharp points, represented by this cut, are best suited for dissecting purposes. In dissections or operations requiring cautious cutting, the knife should be drawn lightly and steadily along the surface, and with such force that the textures, as they are divided, shall fall gently to each side. The pressure must be regulated by a variety of circumstances, such as the depth to which it is wished to carry the incision, the nature of the texture to be cut, and the proximity of important parts. Sometimes a bold and free incision is required through a considerable thickness of parts, when a sawing motion of the hand is of advantage; at other times slight movements with the point of the blade will suffice: in general, if the edge be sufficiently fine, and dexter- ously drawn along, the textures will be readily separated without much apparent rudeness, and without the appearance of scratching, as if a pin was used instead of a sharp-edged weapon. It may be deemed supererogatory to state, that the knife should, with few exceptions, be held in the right hand. It is proper to men- tion this, however, as some, on the often-quoted authority of Celsus, contend that the surgeon should be as dexterous with the left hand as with the right; affirming, that he should do all the operations of surgery as well with the one as the other. To me it has always appeared that this may not have been the meaning of that distin- guished authority; nor do I think it at all requisite on the part of the surgeon, that he should use the knife as dexterously with the left hand as with the right. It will be of advantage to dissect occa- sionally with the left hand; but there are few who will attain the