Old-Time Makers of Medicine: The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle AgesWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
Old-Time Makers of Medicine: The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle Ages
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Medicine, Medieval; Physicians
His directions for the treatment of conditions in the mouth and nose
apart from the teeth are quite as explicit and practical, and in many
ways quite as great an anticipation of some of our modern notions as
what he has to say with regard to the teeth. For instance, in the
treatment of polyps he says that they should be incised and cauterized.
Soft polyps should be drawn out with a toothed tenaculum as far as can
be without risk of breaking them off. The incision should be made at the
root so that nothing or just as little as possible of the pathological
structure be allowed to remain. It should be cut off with a fine
scissors, or with a narrow file just small enough to permit its ingress
into the nostrils, or with a scalpel without cutting edges on the sides,
but only at its extremity, and this cutting edge should be broad and
well sharpened. If there is danger of hemorrhage, or if there is fear of
it, the instruments with which dissection is made should be fired
(_igniantur_), that is, heated at least to a dull redness. Afterwards
the stump, if any remains, should be touched with a hot iron or else
with cauterizing agents so that as far as possible it should be
obliterated.
After the operation a pledget of cotton dipped in the green ointment
described by Rhazes should be placed in the nose. This pledget should
have a string fastened to it, hanging from the nose in order that it may
be easily removed. At times it may be necessary to touch the root of the
polyp with a stylet on which cotton has been placed that has been dipped
in _aqua fortis_ (nitric acid). It is important that this cauterizing
fluid should be rather strong so that after a certain number of touches
a rather firm eschar is produced. In all these manipulations in the nose
Arculanus recommends that the nose should be held well open by means of
a nasal speculum. Pictures of all these instruments occur in his extant
works, and indeed this constitutes one of their most interesting and
valuable features. They are to be seen in Gurlt's "History of Surgery."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account