Woodblock illustration of surgical instruments/ instruments of external medicine from Waike xinfa zhenyan zhinan (Guide to Tried and True Methods at the Heart of External Medicine), published in 1887 (13th year of the Guangxu reign period of the Qing dynasty). The long-type oblique knife (changshi xie dao), long-type pointed knife (changshi jian dao), concave-type knife (neiwanshi dao), convex-type knife (waiwanshi dao), insufflation tube (chui guan), medication drum (yao gu), single hook (dan gou) and double hook (shuang gou) were all instruments employed in Chinese medicine for surgical or external treatment. The long-type oblique knife had a long blade with a sharp cutting edge, which made it suitable for operating on the throat. The long-type pointed knife had a sharp point and was suitable for piercing the throat to let blood (dianci). The concave and convex knives were both used for excising decayed subcutaneous tissue. The insufflation tube was a long, slender pipe, used for introducing drugs into the body by blowing. The medication drum was a spoon-shaped implement, used for the application of drugs to the throat by insufflation. The single and double hooks were implements with hooked tips, used to remove decayed subcutaneous tissue.
