Amputation Saw

Containers:

Artifact EDU2015.06

Scope and content:

Steel amputation saw with metal and ebony handle. Short, wide bladed saw with integrated handle fashioned to fit hand having both a finger hole and a tang to supply support for base of thumb and forefinger. Used to quickly saw through bone while removing injured body parts – primarily arms and legs. After a tourniquet is applied above the injury site, a long, sharp knife is used to quickly cut through the skin and muscle around the circumference of the limb completely down to bone in (if possible) in one circular pass. After the bone is exposed, the saw is used to quickly remove the limb. The exposed muscle is cauterized with a hot iron and the edges of the bone end are rounded with a file. The large arteries and veins are tied off with silk suture material and the skin sewed together to cover the end of the stump. A skilled surgeon could complete the procedure in minutes. The patient generally was given copious amounts of liquor or laudanum (opium) prior to the surgery, but still it was necessary to have several strong men at hand to keep the patient on the operating table. Dimensions: Overall: 14.25 in.(length) x 3.0 in. (height) x 0.75 in. (thickness of handle). Toothed part of blade is 10.5 in. (length) x 0.03125 in. (thickness) and from 2.0 to 2.75 in. wide. Finger hole is 0.875 in. (diameter). Condition: Good to excellent condition with mild corrosion on blade surface and metallic frame. Dried blood is present in the checkering on the handle as well as in the corner formed by the junction of the blade and the surrounding metal frame. The teeth of the blade show moderate wear and there is evidence of wear adjacent to the teeth along the length of the blade where it contacted bone being sawn through. SCRC Purchase. EDU2015.006

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