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 small iron bow (xiao tiegong), large iron bow (da tiegong), large drug spoon (da yaoshao); tweezers (niezi), silver needle (yin zhen) steel needle (gang zhen), ivory needle (ya zhen) and long-beam needle (changleng zhen) were all instruments employed in Chinese medicine for surgical or external treatment. The small iron bow was mostly used in dentistry to lift aside the interior of the cheek so as to examine the teeth, and to apply drugs. The large iron bow was used to investigate the deeper reaches of the oral cavity, when examining the oral cavity itself and the visible parts of the throat. The large drug spoon was mostly used to apply medication to the mouth and tongue. The tweezers were often used to nip off decayed or festering tissue from lesions. The silver needle was mostly used to used to lance boils, to allow blood and pus to drain. In the case of a lesion where no open sore was present, the iron needle could be used to allow treatment by creating an aperture into which drugs could be introduced by means of a medication spill (yao nian). The ivory needle was long and slender in form; being soft and pliable, it could be used to apply drugs to the eye area.The long-beam needle) was often used to puncture (dianci) the throat to release and purge poisons and blood.
