The Tools of Asclepius: Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times

476 Pages·2014·6.893 MB·English

by  Lawrence Bliquez

The Tools of Asclepius
Studies in Ancient Medicine
Edited by
John Scarborough
Philip J. van der Eijk
Ann Ellis Hanson
Joseph Ziegler

VOLUME 43
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/sam
The Tools of Asclepius
Surgical Instruments in Greek
and Roman Times
By
Lawrence J. Bliquez
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Iapyx Treats Wounded Aeneas, House of Siricius, Pompeii. Drawing by Alexander
Hollmann, after an image supplied by Patrick Hunt.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bliquez, Lawrence J., author.
 The tools of Asclepius : surgical instruments in Greek and Roman times / by Lawrence J. Bliquez.
  p. ; cm. — (Studies in ancient medicine, ISSN 0925-1421 ; volume 43)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-27907-0 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-28359-6 (e-book)
I. Title. II. Series: Studies in ancient medicine ; v. 43. 0925-1421
[DNLM: 1. Surgical Instruments—history—Greek World. 2. Surgical Instruments—history—Roman World.
3. General Surgery—history—Greek World. 4. General Surgery—history—Roman World. 5. History,
Ancient—Greek World. 6. History, Ancient—Roman World. W1 ST918K v. 43 2014 / WO 11.1]
 RD71
 617.0028’4—dc23
2014032771
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.
For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 0925-1421
isbn 978-90-04-27907-0 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-28359-6 (e-book)
Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff and Hotei Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided
that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive,
Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Alla cara memoria di Dionigio Magnani
∵

Contents
Preface  ix
Sources  xii
Abbreviations, Short Titles  xii
Primary Sources and Translations  xiii
Traditional Latin Titles of Greek Works and Their Short Titles in
English  xxiv
List of Figures  xxviii
Acknowledgements and Permissions for Figures  xxxiii
1 Introduction  1
The Study of the Instruments in Modern Times  1
Earlier Work on the Instruments  2
Emphasis on Nomenclature   6
Surgeons: Training and Practice  8
Design and Manufacture of Tools  14
Material, Characteristics, and Quality of Tools and Paraphernalia  16
How Successful were the Surgeries?  20
2 Hippocratic Surgeries and Surgical Tools  23
Cupping Vessels  25
Cutting and Puncturing Instruments  27
Cauteries  30
Probes  33
Bone and Tooth Instruments  38
Forceps, Retractors  40
Gynecological Tools  42
Tubes  45
Speculum?  48
‘Hippocratic’ Survivals  50
3 The Hellenistic Contribution  51
4 Tools of the Empire  56
Cupping Vessels  56
Cutting and Puncturing Instruments  72
Probes (Including Spatulas and Spoons)  108
Needles  147
Cauteries  157
viii contents
Retractors and Hooks  173
Bone and Tooth Instruments  183
Tubes  207
Forceps  233
Gynecological and Obstetrical Instruments  249
Miscellaneous Parasurgical Items  262
Vessels/Containers  273
Appendix: Materials, Sutures, Plugs, ‘Tents’, etc.  299
Postscript  348
Bibliography  349
General Index  366
Greek Index  374
Latin Index  378
Figures  381
Preface
This book is intended to replace John Stuart Milne’s Surgical Instruments
in Greek and Roman Times, the classic on the subject in English since 1907
(reprinted 1970). It has been gestating, on and off, for perhaps fifteen years, as
one distraction or another required my attention. My retirement four years ago
has allowed me to bring it to a conclusion.
Those of us interested in the archaeological aspects of Greco-Roman medi-
cine have long known that Milne was outdated and that a new treatment
of the tools was needed. As best I can remember Ralph Jackson suggested I
undertake the project, and its completion owes a great deal to him and to Ernst
Künzl for advice and support constantly and generously given over the years.1
I thank too Klaus-Dietrich Fischer and Antje Krug for keeping me abreast of
their work and for supplying needed information. Additional help, gratefully
received, has been provided by Jerome Kohl, master digitalizer, by Alexander
Hollmann, who produced necessary last minute drawings, by the anonymous
referee for Brill, who supplied bibliography I might otherwise have neglected,
by Professor Daniş Baykan (University of Trakya, Edirne), who sent on a copy
of his recent work at Allianoi, by Sanchita Balachandran, who arranged for
fresh images of the Colophon instruments and by Alain Gowing for constant
technical advice.2 I am especially indebted to John Scarborough for his con-
stant encouragement and guidance, not just for this, but for other undertak-
ings I have attempted that focused on Greco-Roman surgical tools. In thanking
these scholars and friends for their input I am, of course, not associating them
in any way with shortcomings and mistakes that I have undoubtedly made and
for which I alone am responsible.
I envy Milne for his experience as a physician and surgeon, which I am
decidedly not. On the other hand the amount of medical knowledge required
for an exercise of the present type is not extensive if one stays concentrated
1  The spate of references made herein to the works of these two gentlemen is clear indication
of my indebtedness, if such be needed.
2  I am also grateful to the following individuals who, in various ways, have been of assistance in
the preparation of this volume: Johannes Laurentius, Berlin (ger.); Angelika Rau and Lothar
Altringer, both Bonn (ger.); Susan Turner, Cambridge (uk); Marion Ruisinger, Ingolstadt
(ger.); Andreas Christoph, Jena (ger.); Peter Jan Bomhof, Leiden (nl); Ann Ellis Hanson,
New Haven (Ct./usa); Demetrios Michaelides, Nicosia (cyprus); Marie-Véronique Clin,
Paris (fr.); Hélène Chew, Saint-Germaine en Laye (fr.); Patrick Hunt, Palo Alto (Ca./usa);
Artemis Antipas, Scott Noegel, and Catherine Connors, all Seattle (Wa./usa).