Obstetrical surgical instrument set in leather wallet, Unite

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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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Obstetrical surgical instrument set in leather wallet, Unite. Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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Obstetrical surgical instrument sets contained devices and tools for different applications depending on the circumstance. This set is mainly comprised of destructive instruments. It includes a perforator for piercing the child’s skull. There is also one pair of craniotomy forceps, made by Manchester-based instrument maker Wood. These gripped and crushed the skull. They were a last resort to extract a foetus from the mother’s body. This was only done when the foetus was dead or after a prolonged labour in which the mother’s life was at risk. The set is completed by one vaginal speculum for viewing the birth canal and a pewter syringe for injecting ointments into the mother. maker: Unknown maker Place made: United Kingdom

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