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Gut strings were being used in surgery as medical sutures as early as the 3rd century AD as Galen, a prominent Greek physician from the Roman Empire, is known to have used them. [ 4 ] Al-Zahrawi (936–1013) was the first to use catgut for internal stitches.
A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of thread. There are numerous types of suture which differ by needle shape and size as well as thread material ...
Wound closure strips applied to a cut on the top of the foot. Wound closure strips are porous surgical tape strips which can be used to close small wounds. They are applied across the laceration in a manner which pulls the skin on either side of the wound together.
Another peoples to take advantage of the cleansing properties of alcohol were the Greeks. They used wine along with boiled water and vinegar to cleanse wounds. The Greeks, specifically Hippocrates (430–377 BC), were also the first to establish the four cardinal signs of inflammation: redness, swelling, heat and pain. [16]
The first catgut sutures were made from the intestines of sheep, but modern catgut sutures are made from purified collagen extracted from the small intestines of cattle, sheep, or goats. [ 5 ] The concept of synthetic biodegradable plastics and polymers was first introduced in the 1980s. [ 6 ]
The first commercial staplers were made of stainless steel with titanium staples loaded into reloadable staple cartridges. Modern surgical staplers are either disposable and made of plastic, or reusable and made of stainless steel. Both types are generally loaded using disposable cartridges. The staple line may be straight, curved or circular.
There were some important advances to the art of surgery during this period. Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), professor of anatomy at the University of Padua was a pivotal figure in the Renaissance transition from classical medicine and anatomy based on the works of Galen , to an empirical approach of 'hands-on' dissection.
The first historical achievement in anesthesia occurred around 4000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia. [5] [10] [33] [34] [35] This was the advent of Ethanol(commonly known as ‘drinking alcohol’), the first general anaesthetic agent.