300 Medicine. 



been much improved during the period under con- 

 sideration. The first notices of the instrument for 

 this purpose, called the Tourniquet, originated in 

 the seventeenth century. It is amazing that so 

 simple an instrument, and so obvious a means of 

 compressing arteries, should have remained un- 

 known till that period. Surgery must have been 

 in a deplorable state of rudeness and imbecihty 

 when no operation of importance could be under- 

 taken on any of the extremities but with the 

 greatest danger of bleeding to death, and large 

 wounds, othervv^se in no degree hazardous, must 

 often have proved mortal for the want of this sim- 

 ple contrivance. The first attempts to construct it 

 were very rude and imperfect ; and it w^as reserved 

 for Mons. Petit, of Paris, by adding the screw, 

 to render it much more convenient and powerful 

 in the compression of arteries. Another interest- 

 ing improvement in securing arteries belongs to the 

 late century. Instead of the needle and ligature, 

 which were formerly used for this purpose after 

 operations, the tenaculum., or forceps, is now em- 

 ployed, w^hich produces much less pain, and pre- 

 vents many ill consequences of the old method. 

 The first application of the needle and ligature to 

 surgical purposes, which is ascribed to Ambrose 

 Parey, of the sixteenth century, w^as a great im- 

 provement. Since that time many variations have 

 taken place in the mode of using them; and in 

 the course of the eighteenth century, the different 

 kinds of Sutures have been still further improved in 

 many important respects. 



The treatment of diseases of the Head from ex- 

 ternal violence has been extremely improved within 

 the period of this retrospect. For this interesting 

 part of the progress of surgery the w^orld is much 

 indebted to m! Le Dran, Mr. Pott, Mr. Brom- 

 FIELD, and others. 



