426 ANDROPHYSICS. 



department of Androphysics. The later works of Fabricius Aqua- 

 pendente in Italy, and Hildanus in Germany, also contributed to this 

 effect ; and especially the founding of a Surgical Academy in France, 

 in 1731. 



In later times, a host of distinguished surgeons has arisen, whom 

 we have not room here even to name. Pare, we should have added, 

 revived the Celsian invention of ligatures for wounded arteries, 

 instead of cauterizing them ; and Desault has again revived this 

 practice, when fallen into disuse. Petit is celebrated as the inventor 

 of the screw tourniquet, for compressing the arteries ; by which the 

 danger from amputations is greatly diminished. More recently, 

 Desault has enriched surgery with various improvements ; and he 

 was the first clinical lecturer on this branch of medical knowledge. 

 In England, surgery was greatly neglected, till the publication of 

 Wiseman's treatises, in 1676 : but it has since profited by the labors 

 of Chesselden, celebrated for his practical skill ; of Alexander Monro, 

 who studied the pathology of surgery ; of John Hunter, who wrote 

 on inflammation, and gunshot wounds ; and of John Bell, who also 

 wrote on wounds, and improved the means of taking up arteries, in 

 difficult cases of aneurism. 



We proceed to offer some illustrations of this branch of Andro- 

 physics, under the heads of Vulnar, Normal, and Topical Surgery. 



1. Under the head of Vulnar Surgery, we comprise the treat- 

 ment of external injuries; as wounds, fractures, and dislocations, 

 in all their various forms. To this section belongs the process of 

 blood-letting ; which, though beneficial in many diseases, is itself a 

 surgical operation, producing one or more wounds, which require 

 surgical attention. The diseases for which this process is remedial, 

 are most frequently those in which there is plethora, or fulness of 

 blood ; or which are accompanied by inflammation. The method 

 usually employed, is the drawing of blood from a vein : called also 

 phlebotomy, or venesection. The veins, being more superficial in 

 the body than the arteries, are more accessible ; and as they convey 

 the blood from capillary vessels back to the heart, there is less 

 danger from them, of excessive bleeding. In using the lancet, in 

 this process, the greatest care must be taken, neither to wound an 

 artery, which might be fatal, through loss of blood, or might produce 

 a dangerous aneurism; nor to wound a nerve, which might eventually 

 cause convulsions, equally dangerous. The other modes of blood- 

 letting, are scarification, or cupping, where many small punctures are 

 made at once, and the cupping-glass applied, having a syringe for 

 exhausting the air, and thus increasing the flow of blood ; and leeching, 

 or the extraction of blood by the application of leeches, often called 

 bloodsuckers. 



The stoppage of blood, when flowing by hemorrhage, or from 

 bruises or wounds, may often be effected by some simple application ; 

 as of adhesive plaster, lint, flour, or agaric, or an astringent. If these 

 do not succeed, the application of pressure is necessary, either by a 

 common bandage, or by means of the tourniquet, which is a bandage 

 that can be tightened by turning a screw. When applied to a wounded 

 artery, it should be placed on the side towards the heart, from which 



