Chinese woodcut: Bone-setting devices

Woodcut from Shangke buyao (Supplement to Traumatology) by Qian Xiuchang, published in 1818 (23rd year of the Jiaqing reign period of the Qing dynasty). The 'wooden board' and 'fir wood fence' were used to set and fix broken bones. The site of the fracture is first washed and fumigated with a decoction of pain-bearing powder (daitong san), then the broken bone is pulled straight, and moved into position with massage technique (anmo). It is tightly bound with strips of cloth, and held in place by a fir wood board. Finally, the fir wood fence is fixed around the outside, to keep it firm, tight and straight. It helps to keep the break aligned and close together.

PICTURE TITLE: llustration showing the use of the 'wooden board' and 'fir wood fence'