A system of practical surgery / by William Fergusson.

  • Fergusson, William, Sir, 1808-1877.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of practical surgery / by William Fergusson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    29/668
    satisfaction to himself; all must be hap-hazard; whilst on the other hand, in prosecuting his dissections, he takes the surest way of acquiring that dexterity in the use of his hands and instruments, which will be of infinite service to him afterwards in the ordinary performance of his professional avocations; and here I do not so much allude to the performance of capital operations, as to the more common manipulations required in bloodletting, bandaging, dressing sores, opening abscesses, and the numerous little manual proceedings which constitute the routine of sm'gical practice, and which, though seldom named as operations, should be deemed as characteristic of good practical surgery, as the dexterous removal of a limb, or the rapid and successful extraction of a stone from the bladder. In the performance of many operations, as well as in certain dissections, a saw is necessary, and as it is difficult to use it in a workmanlike manner, it will be well to practise with it on wood or bones, the latter being preferable when they can be procured in sufficient abundance; for it is not by sawing through the bones of one or two extremities merely that a dexterous use of this instru- ment can be acquired. The common dove-tail saw is that best fitted for general purposes. One with the blade about nine inches long and two and a half deep, exclusive of the back, will serve on almost all occasions on which a saw is required. I prefer a handle, such as is here exhibited (fig. 11) on a diminished scale, similar in Fig. 11. shape to that used by the cabinet-maker, made of ebony, and of such a size that it can be firmly grasped by three fingers, whilst the fore- finger and thumb are placed parallel, on a level with its upper margin, to keep it steady. The blade Fig. 12. should be sufficiently firm not to bend on the ap- • plication of moderate force; the teeth should be j about this size (fig. 12), and well set out, so as to U-wwvwvaa^ make such a breadth of groove as will allow the blade to move in it with facility. In using this instrument, it should be held in the right hand, as above directed, the part of the serrated margin nearest the hand should be placed on the bone, and by drawing it steadily backwards, a slight groove will be made; it should then be pushed forwards, and. by a repetition of such move-