SURGERY. | 203 
SURGERY. 
By Surgery is to be understood that portion of the Healing Art which 
seeks to remedy such diseases and malformations of the human body as can 
be affected by external applications, whether they be medicines or instru- 
ments, &c.; keeping, however, in mind that internal medicines acting upon 
the whole system, and a proper diet, are almost always to be conjoined. 
The following preliminaries to every surgical operation are carefully to 
be borne in mind: The system of the patient, as well as his mind, must first 
receive proper preparation. When possible, sufficient and skilful assistance 
must be at hand; the location and the position of the patient must be 
suitable both for the individual and the operator; all necessary apparatus, 
instruments, bandages, &c., must be in proper order and prepared for all 
emergencies ; finally, the operation must be finished as quickly as possible, 
to relieve the patient from pain. 
As it is the pain of a surgical operation that is most dreaded by the 
patient, due attention should be directed to alleviating this as much as 
possible. To this end various means may be employed; such as compres- 
sion of the nerves between the part to be operated upon and the brain, 
which may be effected partly by the hands, and partly by means of instru- 
ments. Narcotic appliances, as opium, are also used for the same purpose. 
In the use of sharp instruments, they should be perfectly sharp and free 
from rust, and every instrument, before being used, should be heated shghtly 
and rubbed with fresh olive oil: the application of this substance not only 
diminishes pain, and increases the sharpness of cutting instruments, but also 
facilitates the introduction of such as are blunt. Quite recently the inhala- 
tion of ether and chloroform has been used as an anzesthetic agency to the 
greatest advantage. ‘T'o give a complete description of all surgical instru- 
ments now in use would require many volumes, as every operator has 
forms peculiar to himself. We shall restrict ourselves to a brief notice of 
such as are most generally employed, considering them under the heads of 
the principal varieties of operations. Instruments almost always in the hands 
of the operator are lancets, trochars, knives of the most varied forms, hooks, 
probes, sondes, forceps, nippers, scissors, saws, chisels, hammers, needles, &c. 
Figures of some of these are given on pl. 140. Fig. 1, usual form of thumb 
lancet ; jig. 2, Spanish lancet; fig. 38, abscess lancet; jig. 4, Petit’s trochar, 
with the canula; jig. 11, common tenaculum ; fig. 18, simple button-headed 
sound; fig. 14, common forceps; fig. 16, straight scissors; jig. 17, curved 
SCISSOTS. 
1. BLoop-LErrinG. 
Blood-letting is made use of partly to diminish the amount in the system, 
and partly to restore circulation and to conduct it to or from some parti- 
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