surgeon

Surgeons were licensed to practice by their local company (like a guild) and the Church(which was an unpopular idea and suspended from 1643 - 1660 when surgeons, however poorly trained, were in great demand). They served apprenticeships and as assistants to qualified surgeons before being examined and licensed. Or you could go to sea with the merchant fleet and qualify faster and be better paid. A surgeon with the army could expect half a crown a day (12.5 pence today).

Here are some common surgeons' tools and their uses:

Not to be confused with the physician who dealt in potions and humours!

Surgeons were occupied only with mending the body from the outside ~ taking bits off, putting bits back in and generally getting their hands dirty. Later in the century, as medical theory developed, surgeons became more interested in the mechanics and internal workings of the body and how this fitted with the new scientific approach to healing.

*The Razor*	For shaving hair before operating - many surgeons were also barbers
*The Insition Knife*	At least two were considered essential for cutting along muscle lines (never across or they won't mend). Sharp but not too thin in the blade. Also used to trim cartlidge during amputation.
*The Trepan*	*To cure fractures of the skull~ basically, it dug a hole in the top of the head. Some surgeons preferred the Head Saw* to make a drainage hole**
*The Dismembering Knife*	To cut away skin and flesh before amputating the limb
*The Dismembering Saw*	Only used to amputate arms and legs
*Nippers, Chisels & Mallet*	For the removal for toes and fingers, hopefully by holding them down and banging the chisel through in one swift blow!
*Cauterising Iron*	For stopping very bad bleeding from wounds and more often for curing boils. Not a popular treatment as the iron rod was heated to red hot and applied to the boil. Many patients fainted before the metal touched them!
*Needles*	Preferrably of steel or silver for sewing up wounds with thread ~ the best was white hemp from the Low Countries. There were special stitches used for 'guts'
*Probes*	Very important for cleaning wounds and locating foreign bodies in them. Cleaning is also known to have been done with warm beer
*Forsepts*	For removing the foreign bodies (especially musket balls) and for taking things out of the throats of choking patients
*Lancet*	A blade, often made by the user, to open wounds to bleed patients
*Anaesthetic*	These were NOT used widely - not because they were not available, they were in limited forms, but because surgeons felt a degree of pain during treatment was helpful in curing the patient! Bet they were expensive too! It did mean surgeons needed to be accurate and quick

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