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.

    36/878 (page 12)
    lower jaw, or in the tibia when it is necessary to remove a portion of the hard part of the shaft, as in compound fractures, I believe this instrument breaks the textures at the part where it is applied; in softer bones, besides cutting, it partly bruises, and some theorists have ob- jected to its use from the latter circumstance; but on no occasion, so far as I have observed, has this instrument produced more serious con- sequences on the remaining portion of bone, than the saw might have done, had it been used instead. Besides the shape of cutting forceps represented in the sketch on the preceding page, I have for many years been in the habit of using others more conveniently adapted for particular purposes: sometimes I have found that when the blades were curved in this manner (fig. 14) Fig. 14. Fig. 15. at the point, I could effect with them what I could not with the straight ones; and in other instances I have had reason to be much satisfied with the bend exhibited in figure 15. But now I seldom use any other kind than that represented by figure 16, which I prefer to the others on almost every occasion. There are other shapes, too, nearly all of them being derived from the same “ Armamentarium,” but these (especially 14 and 16) I have found most generally useful in the ordinary operations on bones. The gouge (fig. 17) is an instrument which has been in a great measure overlooked by the modern surgeon; but I cannot here omit giving it a full measure of praise. It was used by the Moreaus in their operations on carious joints, and has been recommended by various authorities; yet it is seldom seen in the surgeon’s hands. In oper-