Medical instruments are very important to the success of modern
medical practices. However, it was the creation of early medical
instruments in the Romans and Greek times that allowed the initial
venture into modern medicine to begin. Many forms of ancient medical
instruments have been found through out time. For example, ancient
scalpels are now on display at several museums. These medical
instruments were made from bronze, steel, or both, and were used for
some of the same procedures that are done today. The scalpels of the
ancient times variety in shape and size as the medical instruments of
today also do. This allowed doctors to make different types of cuts
depending on the surgery that was taking place.
Other
medical instruments from the past have also been found. Some of the
more well known medical instruments including hooks, bone drills, and
bone forceps. Hooks were used in procedures such as raising blood
vessels and holding up pieces of tissue. Modern medical instruments are
still used to do the same function, and are still in hook form. Bone
drills were created so that ancient doctors could remove damaged bone
mass or objects from the bone such as metal. Bone forceps were medical
instruments that were used in conjunction with bone drills to remove
pieces of unwanted material from the patient’s body that they were not
able to get with their hands.
Many pieces of modern medical
instruments had come to be developed through the updating of some of
these ancient pieces. Many medical instruments are now created out of
top of the line materials that far surpass the ancient medical
instrument materials; however the design and practicality of the tools
still remain the same. The brilliant brains and intuition of previous
medical workers and tool craftsman had greatly shaped the way that
modern medicine is preformed.