Al-Zahrāwī divides his surgical treatise into three sections (abwāb). In the first section (56 chapters)[14] he elaborates upon the uses and disadvantages of cautery in general. And on the ground that "fire touches only the ailing part ... without causing much damage to surrounding area," as caustic medicine does, he prefers cautery by fire (al-kay bi al-nār) to cautery by medicine (bi al-dawā).[15] This, he adds, "became clear to us through lifelong experience, diligent practice, and thorough investigations of facts."[16] [Illustration: Figure 9.--Metal nose dropper. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Tüb. MS. 91), courtesy Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen. _Middle_, from Channing, _Albucasis_ (_Smithsonian photo 46891-C_). _Bottom_, from Sudhoff, _Chirurgie_, courtesy National Library of Medicine.] He also proposes that instruments made of iron are more practical in many ways than those made of gold, because often, when gold instruments are put in fire, they either are not heated enough or are overheated, causing the gold to melt. [Illustration: Figure 10.--Dental scrapers. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Vel. 2491), courtesy Süleymaniye Umumi Kütüphanesi Müdürlüğü. _Left_, from Argellata 1531, courtesy National Library of Medicine. _Right_, from Channing, _Albucasis_.] Al-Zahrāwī gently refutes the superstition that cautery is "good only in springtime," and states that "under the right conditions of the body’s humors it could be used in all seasons."[17] Although he recommends cautery rather highly, he never minimizes the importance of treatment by drugs. Actually, he encourages the use of drugs, before, with, and after cauterization.[18] For example, in chapter 16 on "the cauterization of eyelid when its hair grows reversedly into the eye," he recommends treatment by cautery and by medicine. In cautery, the area where fire is to be placed is marked with ink in the shape of a myrtle leaf. In drug treatment, the caustic medicine is applied to the eyelid over a paper in the shape of a myrtle leaf (fig. 2). [Illustration: Figure 11.--Dental forceps. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Tüb. MS. 91), courtesy Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen. _Bottom_, from Leclerc, _Abulcasis_.] In chapter 17 the author refers to an ancient method regarding cautery of the fistula in the inner corner of the eye. After incising the fistula, one "dirham" (derived from the Greek "drachma," which is equal to about 2.97 grams)[19] of melted lead is poured into it through a fine funnel used for cauterization (fig. 3). [Illustration: Figure 12.--Golden bridge to stabilize shaky teeth. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Tüb. MS. 91), courtesy Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen. _Left_, from Argellata 1531, courtesy National Library of Medicine. _Right_, from Channing, _Albucasis_.]