BLOODLETTING INSTRUMENTS - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

More documents

Recommendations

Info

NUMBER 41 27 Fip.I fig.3 Fi^.4- -kUifc- FIGURE 14.—Weiss's improved patent cupping apparatus. Illustrated are Weiss's patent syringe applied to cupping and Weiss's improved scarificator. (From John Weiss, Surgical Instruments, 2nd.edition, London, 1831. SI photo 73-5184.)
28 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY glass was called "The Glass Leech." Since the burning tow could be placed in the hanging belly of the glass, away from the skin, it was easier to apply and remove the ordinary cup.i^i Other modifications of the cupping cup included the addition of a stopcock to let the air back in, graduations to measure the blood, and the attachment of a metal bar inside the cup in order to hold the burning sponge or wick away from the body of the patient.i^^ (Figure 15.) The most significant innovation in cups came with the manufacture of cups of vulcanized rubber in the 1840s. Rubber cups could be easily exhausted without need of a torch, and they were far cheaper and easier to manipulate than cups attached to a pump. Most surgical catalogs in the late nineteenth century offered both all-rubber cups and glass cups to which a rubber bulb was attached. In the late nineteenth century, sets of cups were sometimes sold with rubber rims because the rubber fit more comfortably against the skin and prevented air from entering the cup. Museum collections contain few rubber cups because nineteenth-century rubber tended to deteriorate in time. However, the appearance of these cups in all surgical catalogs indicates that they were widely sold.i^^ Several inventors tried to improve upon the scarificator. The defects of the ordinary scarificator were widely recognized. It was too bulky and heavy, and it cost too much—the most inexpensive scarificator offered by George Tiemann & Co. in 1889 cost $4.50.1^^ A strong hand was required to trigger the blades, and when the trigger was released, the force of the spring was so great that the lever moved FIGURE 15.—Fox's glass leech. Cupping set contains two hanging "glass leeches," a scarificator, a bottle of alcohol, and a torch with a ring handle such as the cupper Knox recommended. (Set held by the Academy of Medicine, Toronto. Photo courtesy of the Academy.)
Page 1 and 2: SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Preface v Introduction 1 S
Page 5 and 6: PREFACE Among the many catalogs of
Page 15 and 16: 10 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY A
Page 31: 26 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY A
Page 35 and 36: 30 SMITHSONLVN STUDIES IN HISTORY A
Page 67 and 68: 62 SMITHSONL\N STUDIES IN HISTORY A
Page 69 and 70: FIGURES 26-124 26 FIGURE 26.—Repr
Page 77 and 78: 72 SMITHSONL\N STUDIES IN HISTORY A
Page 83 and 84:
78 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY A
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
82 SMITHSONMN STUDIES IN HISTORY AN
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND
Page 95 and 96:
90 SMITHSONMN STUDIES IN HISTORY AN
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
100 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY
Page 107 and 108:
102 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY
show all

BLOODLETTING INSTRUMENTS - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?