Woodblock illustration of surgical instruments/instruments of external medicine from Waike tushuo (Pictorial Manual of External Medicine), published in 1856 (6th year of the Xianfeng reign period of the Qing dynasty). It shows the bidao (penknife / brush knife), yinsi (silver wire), gou dao (hook knife), jiantou bi (sharp-pointed dagger), chuangang zhentao (needle sheath for anal insertion). The yinsi was made of silver, a soft, flexible and pliable metal, and was used to operate on haemorrhoids and fistulas. The chuangang zhentao was presumably used in operations on internal haemorrhoids.
