Baker-Brown-type cautery clamp, Paris, France, 1867-1900
The cautery clamp was probably used during ovariotomy to control the bleeding from blood vessels. The clamp, coated with ivory, was to be used with a cautery. Isaac Baker-Brown (1812-73), who devised this type of clamp around 1865, wrote the first book dedicated entirely to gynaecology, 'On Surgical Diseases of Women', in 1854.
Object number:
A606204
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: ovariotomy
The operation of removing one or both of the ovaries
Glossary: clamp
An instrument for compression of a structure
Glossary: hysteria
A nervous affection, occurring almost exclusively in women, in which the emotional and reflex excitability is exaggerated, and the will power correspondingly diminished, so that the patient loses control over the emotions, becomes the victim of imaginary sensations, and often falls into paroxism or fits.
Glossary: obstetrics
A branch of medicine dealing with the care of women. This care occurs during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of recovery from childbirth.
Glossary: cautery
To destroy tissue through contact with a hot implement. To remove warts, etc, or to stop small cuts bleeding.
Glossary: gynaecology
A branch of medicine dealing with the treatment of disorders affecting the female reproductive system.