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.

    34/878 (page 10)
    manual proceedings which constitute the routine of surgical practice, which, though seldom named as “ operations,” should be deemed as characteristic of good practical surgery, as the dexterous removal of a limb, or the rapid and successful extraction of a stone from the bladder. . In the performance of many operations, as well as in certain dissec- tions, a saw is necessary, and as it is difficult to use it in a workman- like manner, it will be well to practise with it on wood or bones, the latter being preferable when they can be procured in sufficient abundance; for it is not by sawing through the bones o. one or two extremities merely that a dexterous use of this instrument can be acquired. The common dove-tail saw is that best fitted for genera purposes. One with the blade about nine inches long and two and a half deep, exclusive of the back, will serve on almost all occasions on which a saw is required. I prefer a handle, such as is here exhibited (fig. 11) on a diminished scale, similar in shape to that used by the cabinet-maker, made of ebony, and of such a Fig. 12. size that, whilst held in the palm, it can be firmly grasped by three fingers, the fore-fin- ger and thumb being placed parallel with its upper margin, to aid in keeping it steady. The blade should be sufficiently firm not to bend on the application of moderate force; the teeth should be about this size (fig. 12), and well set out, so as to make such a breadth of groove as will allow the blade to move in it with facility. In using this instrument, it should be held in the right hand, as above directed, the part of the serrated margin nearest the hand should be placed on the bone, and by drawing it steadily backwards, a slight groove will be made; it should then be pushed forwards, and, by a repetition of such movements, extending on each occasion nearly the length of the blade, with a moderate degree of force and rapidity, a bone, the femur, for example, may be cut through in a few seconds. In many operations the full sweeps here indicated cannot be effected, and a much shorter blade will suffice; indeed there are great varieties of saws, some of which I shall speak