346 



MANirULATION. 



slender shaft of wood, b, whilst the other is curved as at c, in 

 order to be pressed upon by the thumb or fore-finger in the 

 act of cutting. With an instrument of this kind, Swammer- 

 dam is said to have made all his finest dissections. 



Method of Sharpeninc/ Scissors. — This may be effected by 

 opening the blades and noticing the angle at which the edges 

 have been previously ground, and placing them on the hone 

 at the same angle, and rubbing them backwards and forwards, 

 always keeping them at the same inclination ; a few strokes 

 will generally suffice for the purpose, and the blades need not 

 be separated one from the other, provided the hone employed 

 (which should be that known as Turkey stone) have a flat side 

 that wiU allow of the whole of the cutting part of the blade to 

 be rubbed upon it. 



Scalpels. — The name of scalpel is generally given to the 

 small knives employed in dissections, each consists of a blade 

 firmly rivetted, as shown in fig. 230, into a flattened handle of 

 ebony or ivory, which is made thin and spatula-lilie at its 

 extremity. The blade may be of various shapes ; those shown 

 by A B C D E F in fig. 230, will be found most generally 

 useful, some of them, such as B D E, being formed for 



Fig. 230. 



dissecting small animals, where the point of the blade is almost 

 the only part employed, whilst A and F ai-e more fitted for 



