532 THE CROTCHET. 



SECTION 7. 



Of Crotchets, and their Use. 



Crotchets were formerly employed in almost all the cases that are 

 now happily terminated by means of the forceps, and in an infinity 

 of others, which, by means of turning, or the skilful use of the hand 

 are capable of being brought to a favorable conclusion; but their em- 

 ployment becomes more and more rare, as the knowledge of obste- 

 trics, extends, as well as that of all the other destructive instruments 

 which .were so much abused by the ancients. 



1168. Crotchets are of two kinds: one, terminated by a blunt 

 and rounded extremity, or else of an olive shape, and more or less 

 bulbous, which are proposed as substitutes for the fingers or the 

 fillet, do not divide the parts of the child, and are applied either 

 while it is living, or after its death, upon different parts of its body. 

 They are constructed of various forms. It has been recommended 

 that they should all be replaced by the one which terminates the 

 handle of the modern forceps; but the best ones consist of a long 

 piece of steel, supported by a wooden handle, and curved into an 

 arc of a circle, the sinus of which is sufficiently open to embrace 

 without difficulty the groin, the ham, or the axilla; when only bent 

 at a right angle, as advised by Madame Lachapelle, they slip too 

 readily; if bent into the shape of the letter S, or contracted in too 

 acute an angle, they will not fit accurately to the part on which they 

 may have to be applied; Baudelocque, Steidele, and most of the 

 accoucheurs of the present day, have imagined that the two blunt 

 crotchets of the forceps might be united, so as to form a pincers 

 with a curved end, and to be applied to both groins at once; but it 

 does not appear that such a modification can ever be wanted. A 

 single branch commonly suffices, and, with the exception of a ievf 

 cases, the fingers are a very good substitute. The utility of the blunt 

 crotchet, however, can scarcely be doubted when from any cause 

 whatever the head has be^gn separated from the trunk, which cannot 

 be extracted except by acting upon the axilla; in such a case, as in 

 breech and knee positions, the only rule that it is important to follow 

 is, always to act upon the bend of the limb that looks to the back 

 part of the woman's pelvis, and in drawing down, not to lose sight 

 of the axes of the pelvis. 



1169. The point of the sharp crotchet is sometimes round, as in 

 the olive of the forceps, sometimes flat and triangular, as in Mauri- 

 ceau's and most of the ancient instruments, so that the entire in- 

 strument is nothing more than a cephalotome with a bent blade. 



