MEDICAL EQUIPMENT IN THE 1800’s

Warning: not for the faint-hearted!

If you are dying to know more about historical surgical practices Kings Press sells reprinted copies of actual manuals from the day.      http://www.kingspress.com/military.html

I couldn’t resist purchasing, Marine Practice of Physik and Surgery, Including the Nature and Treatment of Gunshot Wounds, by Dr John Ranby, esquire; surgeon general to the British Army, circa 1776.  Kings Press also supplied me with a manual on the treatment of Wounds and Fractures, from the same time period.  Interesting reading for medical history buffs.

To the sides are a few pictures of the surgical equipment physicians used during the Regency era.  Drums up a little appreciation for our local hospitals, doesn’t it?  For some nifty websites with more goodies you can follow these links:

http://www.collectmedicalantiques.com/military.html

 http://www.thackraymuseum.org/collection.html

And now for my favorite…nah, just kidding.  But you gotta love leeches.  These slimey things were approved for marketing by the FDA in 2004.  And you’ll love the irony of this…a French firm is the first to begin marketing leeches as a medical device.  Leeches are amazing little creatures, and for some applications amazingly useful.

 However, it is important to note that most of the casualties from the Napoleonic war were due to complications after the battle.  No wonder, considering the method used to stop bleeding was to bleed the fellow some more or slap a dozen of these little suckers on the wound.