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Roman Surgical Tools

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The Roman Age The Roman Age truly reflected the progress and development of surgical instruments. This time period between 30 BC and 476 CE was monumental in influencing the surgical tools of today's generation. In fact, the application of various surgical practices and the usage of tools such as scalpels and forceps are based of those used by ancient physicians and surgeons. One of the most prominent innovations of surgical instruments during the Roman Age was of the scalpel. Innovating on the mineral blades from the 20th century BC, Roman scalpels were constructed by from two pieces of serrated bronze blocks. Unlike the blades that had been used by previous generations, the bronze scalpels used by the Romans were much wider and longer in order to effectively make a variety of incisions. Additionally, the size of these scalpels allowed …show more content…

273). Another highly acclaimed surgical instrument developed during the Roman Age was the forcep. The forceps were constructed by bending two pieces of steel in order to create a “grappling” mechanism. The Romans commonly used forceps to conduct various types of oral surgery such as removal of the uvula and tonsils. Additionally, due to the length and slimness of the instrument, physicians and surgeons were able to readily use forceps to compress arteries in order to reduce bleeding when conducting strenuous medical procedures (Milne 2012 p. 100). The last great innovation in surgical instruments developed by the Romans was the Bone Drill. Bone drills were commonly used to remove “diseased bone” and tissue from the deeper parts of the body. More importantly, the development of this surgical instrument was monumental in the evolution of surgery due to the fact that it allowed for the conducting of orthopedic surgery, something that was rarely done in previous centuries (Harrison 2013). In summary, the surgical instruments developed during the Roman Age were significant in improving surgical science for the generations

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