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. 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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).