PRIMITIVE SURGERY.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 301, 15 August 1929, Page 8

PRIMITIVE SURGERY.

ANTS AS DOCTORS’ ASSISTANTS Far greater dexterity in the treatment of wounds than might be expected is shown by spfne of the backward races (writes 'f)r 'Edward Knight in an article on “ Native , Handicraft ” in Chambers’ Journal for June). The Indians of Brazil .Jake an ant which has very ( powerful, jaws and cause it to bite the edges of a cut and so bring them iillo juxtaposition. Afterwards they snip the bodies the heads, which remain toehold the wound together. Some natives have been seen with lorig rheld,’.together by seven or eight ants’ heads. Another method of closing wounds used by some natives is to .thrust long thorns across the .cfepjh, ftfi the wound, piercing the ’skin a little way! from the edge on one side and emerging at a corresponding distance on the other side. A piece of string is then twisted over the protruding ends in figure-of-eight fashion, under the thorns and across the wound. This method is often used by surgeons in closing clefts in the lips, the only difference being that they use steel pins instead of thorns. In Afghanistan, where all the men among the wild tribes are fighters, when a husband comes jiome with a gaping wound big wife closes it by using an ordinary sewing needle threaded by a hpir drawn from her own head. Natives qf tropical countries have,' become exceedingly 'expert in jng parasites from under the 'skin by surgical means. The “ jigger,’’ or burrowing flea, bur iris itsglf in thp flesh, greatly increasing ip jjjze. With a needle a negro wifi work pound trip globular body in ord«r not to' break it, as if a single be left, in Jhe wound his trouble will be,,wastejl.. Despite its delicacy, the operation. % always successfully perforirie^.. Othpr operations for the removal of dangerous parasites from the ing extraordinary shall and patienpe, are also described. . ' g Now and again saVages have dis T played wonderful manualskill in surgical operations with instruments illadapted to their performance. Without the advantage of steel cutting instruments, they use makeshifts of sharp-edged fragments of flint, crystals, obsidian, or volcanic glass, and she Is. The delicate operation of trephining or removing a rounded piece of bone from the skull has been performed by East Indian natives with obsidian knives. Both on the Continent and in England skulls have been found by archaeologists showing that this operation has been performed in prehistoric times. Natives very often attempt the setting of broken limbs with splints of wood bound with hides. Strips of bamboo held together by string form a popular splint among some tribes. In Nubia bamboo splints dating back 2000 to 3000 B.C. have been found. In West Africa the Deuka tribesmen possess sufficient knowledge to place a limb between wooden splints and bandage it with fibrous leaves. The man who performs the operation endeavours to force the bones back into places and leaves the rest to nature. It is the native Oriental drietor with a little learning who is likriP#' tri fring his patient to grief. Dr NWigtK'ri'records an instance in Persia iri vWiich a boy was brought to a European hospital after treatment by’ a liatiire for a broken arm. The limb wris bound so tightly that the circulation had been stopped and gangrene set in, necessitating amputation of the arm. It was afterwards discovered that the arm had only been bruised and not broken.