TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The instruments used by doctors and how they work

THIS week: Electro cauterisation tools CAUTERISATION is where heat is used to cut and seal blood vessels. The process was described by a 10th-century Andalusian physician, Abu Al Qasim Al Zahrawi, who developed several instruments to perform it (these would be heated in a fire).

Researchers at the University of Pisa in Italy have found evidence of the technique being used on an 11th-century mummified body buried in Italy with two wounds to the head — one had scarring that suggested it had been burned to seal it. Manuscripts from the same period (in The British Library) include images depicting the treatment, with the ‘cautery iron’ shown being heated in fire. These days, surgeons use an electric current (electrocautery) to heat a metal wire or scalpel to a very high temperature to carry out the procedure.