Dupuytren-type lithotome, Paris, France, 1825-1835
This object was used to cut the bladder in order to remove stones (hard mass in the bladder) – a practice known as lithotomy. Baron Guillaume Dupuytren (1777-1835), a French surgeon and pathologist, invented this double bladed lithotome for the bi-lateral lithotomy procedure he developed in 1812. This procedure became widely used from the 1850s onwards.
Object number:
A121611
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: lithotomy
The operation of cutting stones from the hollow organs, such as the kidney or bladder.
Glossary: lithotome
instrument used for cutting the bladder in operations for removal of stones (calculous concretions); from Greek: lithos (stone) and thomos (cut)