EVOLUTION OF THE SCALPEL

by Esteban MeleanClass: Intro to Engineering Desing

What Is the Scalpel?

Is a small blade. Extremely sharp. Used for: surgery,

anatomical dissection, and craft.

Timeline:

1) 3000 B.C ; Ancient Mesopotamia Recent discovery of

the metals. First surgeries

attempted. Ancient copper

knives were used.

2) 2500 B.C ; Ancient Egypt.

Made of copper and sharpened obsidian.

Specialized for specifics parts of the body.

Used to remove organs for mummifications.

3) 1700 B.C; Bronze Scalpels Used in Egypt for

mummification. Used in Babylon for

surgeries according to the code of Hammurabi.

The scalpels were made of bronze; An alloy of copper and tin.

4) Last Centuries B.C; India. According to the the

surgical textbook, Sushruta Samhita.

They started using sharp bamboo splinters.

Then made scalpels of obsidian and the first made of steel.

5) First Century A.D; Rome. Romans used scalpels of

bronze and steel and developed superior metallurgical techniques to made them.

They learned superior medical techniques, and create a variety on instruments. They had for example ,some double-ended scalpels that must have taken a careful surgeon to use

6) Medieval Times. All kinds of

variations and strange knives.

Because of the flourishing of autopsies and dissections of the body .

But, there were not big advance in the technology.

7) 15th to 19th Century: Folding Scalpel. It fit in the pocket and

because it folded, it stayed sharp and didn’t tear up the physicians’ clothes.

These blades fold into tortoise or horn handles.

19th century scalpels have blade stops at 180 degrees and many lock open.

They were very finely made.

8) 1860’s-1970’s: Fixed Blade Scalpels.

First they had handles of bone, ivory, horn or wood.

But then all the piece began to be made of steel after 1970’s.

9) 1920’s: Stainless Steel Scalpel. In 1912 the English

metallurgist Harry Brearley invents stainless steel.

1919-1923 Sheffield cutlers start the production of surgical scalpels.

These blades doest not rust and are stronger.

10) 20th Century: The Modern Surgical Scalpel. It is made of 440C

stainless steel. It is formed by 2 parts : the

blade and the handle. Only the blade of the

scalpel is metal; The handles are plastic and are made to be thrown away.

It has 15+ different types of blade for surgery purpose.

11) 1955, Diamond Scalpel. Invented by the

Venezuelan scientific Humberto Fernandez Moran.

It possesses an extremely sharp and hard diamond cutting edge.

Used to make ultra fine cuts in biological tissue; Or in mineral, as lunar rocks or silver.

12) 1967, Gamma Knife. Invented by the

Swedish neurosurgeon professor Lars Leksell.

Uses high-energy light beams (x-rays, gamma rays), or charged particles (electron beams or protons beams).

To damage the DNA of tumor cells .

And does not make incisions in the patient.

13) 1975, Plasma Scalpel. Invented by Frank P.

Incropera & William J. Link.

Uses a high temperature argon gas plasma, ionized at 3000 degrees C.

It is Capable of simultaneous division of tissue and coagulation of blood vessels.

Can be use under MRI.

14) 1980’s , Laser Scalpel. Using different

technologies depending on the patent.

It Produces a high-intensity beam of invisible infra-red light.

The laser beam ablates or vaporizes the soft tissue with high water content, cutting living biological tissue.

Can be used under MRI.

Its Effects on the Society. Thanks to the scalpel we have today an instrument

that allows the surgeon to open de body and access the internal organs; And with it:

1. Surgeries that save lives removing tumors.2. Surgeries that can put or remove objects from our

body (as bullets or artificial heart valves).3. Organs transplants.4. Plastic surgeries.5. Autopsies.6. The knowledge of the human anatomy, and basis of

the modern medicine.7. The knowledge of modern botany and zoology.

Works Cited :1. Carlisle, Rodney P. , “Stainless Steel”. “Scientific American inventions and

discoveries”. 2004. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. USA. Pg 380.

2. Collum, Laura. “Tools of the Trade: Surgical Knives and Scalpels”. ”Worth Point”. 05/15/2009. 09/12/2009. <http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/tootls-trade-surgical-knives/>.

3. Klein, Joan E. , “Surgical Instruments from Ancient Rome”.”University of Virginia Health system”. 2009. 09/11/2009. <http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/roman_surgical/>.

4. N / A, “Medicine: Laser Scalpel”. ”TIME”. Monday, Aug. 06, 1973. 09/12/2009. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/ 0,9171,904021,00.html/>.

5. N / A, “Surgical instruments”. ”Medical discoveries in Medicine”. 2007. 09/11/2009. <http://www.discoveriesinmedicine.com/ Ra-Thy/Surgical-Instruments.html/>.

6. N / A, “US Patent 3991764 - Plasma arc scalpel”. ”Patent Storm”. 2004. 09/12/2009. <http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/3991764/fulltext.html/>.

7. N / A, “Scalpel”. ”Wikipedia”. 2009. 09/11/2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalpel/>.