The following picture and description appear courtesy of Dr. M. Donald Blaufox, M.D., Ph.D, from his medical historic website: www.mohma.org.
Each month we visit Dr. Blaufox's Museum of Historical Medical Artifacts to take a look back at the medical equipment that cleared the way for what patients encounter in the doctor offices and operating rooms of today. Some equipment may be recognizable, while other inventions featured here have since become obsolete or have had their usefulness discredited.
Category: Cased set
Estimated Date: 1850
Name: Cautery Set
Description: 4“x 1.25“x 2.5” leatherette box with blue velvet lining. Brass spirit lamp 2” x 0.75” diameter. The 6” long cautery can be unscrewed into two parts for storing. Handle is a brown hardwood and cautery part is steel. Cautery bowl 0.70”. Cautery was an ancient means of treating wounds. It served a dual purpose, the heat congealed the blood, stopping bleeding and it also served to sterilize the wound. The application of heat had to be timed carefully or it would result in significant tissue damage and defeat the purpose. This is a small cautery for small wounds, but much larger ones are in collections both as part of surgical cased sets and as stand alone instruments.
