Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman TimesMilne, John Stewart
History
Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times
Milne, John Stewart
Surgery -- History; Surgical instruments and apparatus
We have frequent references to eyed probes, and we also possess a
considerable number of different types. In dealing with the dipyrene I
quoted a passage to show that it sometimes carried an eye in one of its
olives. Hippocrates refers to an eyed probe of tin. In treating of fistula
he directs us to take a rod of tin having one end pierced with an eye
(μήλην κασσιτερίνην ἐπ' ἄκρου τετρημένην), and having put one end of a
twisted piece of lint through the eye put the probe into the fistula, get
the end of the specillum, bend it and hold the thread with the finger and
withdraw the ends. Paul quotes this passage (VI. lxxvii), but alters the
wording slightly:
'Hippocrates directs us to pass a thread consisting of five pieces
through the fistula by means of an eyed probe or a dipyrene' (διὰ
τετρημένου κοπαρίου ἢ διπυρήνου).
Again in polypus naris (ii. 243) Hippocrates directs us to cut a sponge to
the shape of a ball and tie the ball round with thread, and make it hard
and of such a size as to fill the nose. To the sponge tie a thread of four
pieces, each a cubit long, and make one thread of them. Put the end
through a fine tin rod having an eye at the end. Push the rod bent at an
acute angle into the mouth, and catch the end of the thread under the
palate and pull it through, propping it with another hoof-like probe, and
extract the polypus. Pl. XVII, fig. 1 shows an eyed probe from the Baden
Hospital. Its shape is exactly the same as a lead probe figured by Paré
for the insertion of the apolinose.
An example of a scoop at one end and an eyed probe at the other was found
at Augst, and is now in the Museum at Basle (Brunner, loc. cit., Taf. I,
fig. 14). It is 16 cm. long, of which the spoon, slightly defective at its
tip, occupies 3 cm. About 2 cm. from its tip, which is fine, there is an
elongated eye, 5 mm. in length.
Various other combinations are met with.
_Ligula type of Specillum._
Greek, κυαθίσκος; Latin, _ligula_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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