I 



156 CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE 



early in the morning. I visited my Patients and be- 

 yond expectation I found such as I had dressed with 

 a digestive only, free from vehemency of pain, to 

 have had a good rest and that their wounds were not 

 inflamed . . . but ... the others that were burnt 

 with the Scalding Oyl were feverish tormented with 

 much pain . . . and swoln. When I had many times 

 tried this in divers others, I thought this much, that 

 neither I nor any other should ever cauterize any 

 wounded with Gunshot.* 



But he still advocated the actual cautery for arresting 

 hemorrhage even down to early in 1552. But later in 

 that same year he changed his practice and thus describes 

 his introduction of the ligature a famous advance. 



I confess here freely and with great regret that 

 heretofore my practice has been entirely different 

 from that which I describe at present after amputa- 

 tions. ... I advise the young surgeon to abandon 

 such cruelty and inhumanity and follow this better 

 method. . . . Having several times seen the suture 

 of veins and arteries for recent wounds which were 

 attended by hemorrhage I have thought that it might 

 be well to do the same after the amputation of a 

 limb. Having consulted in reference to this matter 

 with Etienne de la Riviere, Ordinary Surgeon to the 

 King, and other surgeons sworn of Paris, and having 

 declared my opinion to them, they advised that we 

 should make the experiment [espreuve] on the first 

 patient that we had, but [note his cautious uncer- 

 tainty] but we would have the cautery all ready in 

 case of any failure of the ligature. I have done this 

 on the person of a postilion named Pirou Garbier, 

 whose right leg I cut off ... following a fracture. 5 



4 Johnson's Pare, p. 272. 



6 Malgaigne's Pare, Chap. XXVI., pp. 227, 230. 



