BLIQUEZ Lawrence J., “The Tools of Asclepius : Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times”

Présentation de l’éditeur :

With The Tools of Asclepius Lawrence Bliquez offers the first comprehensive treatment in English of the instruments and paraphernalia employed by Greco-Roman surgeons since John St. Milne’s Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times (1907).
Introductory sections cover topics ranging from literary and archaeological sources to the design, materials and production of instruments and the training and practice of the doctors-surgeons who used them. Summaries of Hippocratic and Hellenistic surgery lead to the meat of the book: tools used during the Roman Empire. These are presented by category (e.g. Cutting Instruments) broken into subcategories (Scalpel, Lithotome, etc.). A substantial appendix deals with biodegradable items, such as suppositories. Much new material is featured and the book is richly illustrated.

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Sommaire :

• Introduction
  • The Study of the Instruments in Modern Times  
  • Earlier Work on the Instruments  
  • Emphasis on Nomenclature   
  • Surgeons: Training and Practice  
  • Design and Manufacture of Tools  
  • Material, Characteristics, and Quality of Tools and Paraphernalia  
  • How Successful were the Surgeries?  
• Hippocratic Surgeries and Surgical Tools  
  • Cupping Vessels  
  • Cutting and Puncturing Instruments  
  • Cauteries  
  • Probes  
  • Bone and Tooth Instruments  
  • Forceps, Retractors  
  • Gynecological Tools  
  • Tubes  
  • Speculum?  
  • ‘Hippocratic’ Survivals  
• The Hellenistic Contribution  
  • Tools of the Empire  
  • Cupping Vessels  
  • Cutting and Puncturing Instruments  
  • Probes (Including Spatulas and Spoons)  
  • Needles  
  • Cauteries  
  • Retractors and Hooks  
  • Bone and Tooth Instruments  
  • Tubes  
  • Forceps  
  • Gynecological and Obstetrical Instruments  
  • Miscellaneous Parasurgical Items  
  • Vessels/Containers  

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Compte-rendus :

– Lesley Bolton, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2015.12.14

– Valérie Gitton-Ripoll, L’Antiquité Classique 86, 2017

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