Pocket surgical instrument set, London, England, 1846-1901
This instrument set is easily portable, designed to fit into a surgeon’s or physician’s pocket. It contains a range of instruments including bistouries, artery forceps, folding scalpels, lancets, forceps for dissection and dressing wounds, and a knife for cutting abscesses. Most of them are made from steel, copper and silver-plated metal and fold into protective tortoiseshell handles to make them easier and safer to carry. The owner of this instrument set added some silk cord for sutures – for stitching up wounds.
Object number:
A500642
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: bistoury caché
A long, narrow-bladed knife, with a straight or curved edge and sharp or blunt point (probe-point); used for opening or slitting cavities or hollow structures. Bistoury caché literally translates as hidden knife
Glossary: surgical instrument set
Set of instruments to be used for surgery. A physician would often build up their own collection of favoured tools in order to feel as comfortable as possible when carrying out surgery.
Glossary: artery forceps
forceps are a two-bladed instrument with a handle for compressing or grasping tissues in surgical operations, and for handling sterile dressings, etc. Artery forceps are for specifically grasping and compressing an artery.
Glossary: suture
The closing of a wound or incision with thread to help the healing process.
Glossary: lancets
A surgical instrument of various forms, commonly sharp-pointed and two-edged. The lancet is used in venesection (the act of opening a vein for bloodletting), and in opening abscesses.
Glossary: scalpel
A small thin sharp blade used by surgeons.
Glossary: forceps
A pliers-like medical instrument used to grasp tissue.
Glossary: abscess
A swelling, caused by a build up of pus, that is located within the body tissue.