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 scissors (jianzi), 'oblique teeth' (xie ya), scraper (gua dao), small spoon (xiao shao), sharp-edged knife (jianren dao), single-bladed knife (danren dao), two-bladed knife (erren dao), three-edged needle (sanleng zhen), four-edged needle (sileng zhen), and small steel scoop (xiao gang chan) were all instruments employed in Chinese medicine for surgical or external treatment. The scissors were generally used to cut away festering or decayed tissue. The 'oblique teeth' were used to dispense the correct amount of a drug. The scraper was used to scrape away tongue coating, ringworm, pus etc. The small spoon was used to apply medication to inaccessible parts of the body. The remaining items are all small, sharp instruments which could be used ad hoc according to the clinical circumstances.
