Chinese woodcut: Types of knives and needles (1)

Woodblock illustration of surgical instruments/ instruments of external medicine from Waike xinfa zhenyan zhinan (Guide to Tried and True Methods at the Heart of External Medicine), published in 1887 (13th year of the Guangxu reign period of the Qing dynasty). Oblique-type (xie shi), pointed-type (jian shi) and curved-type (yuan shi) knives were surgical instruments employed in Chinese medicine. The oblique-type knife had a wide range of applications. There were heavier and lighter versions, made of different materials, offering flexibility of choice according to the clinical circumstances. The pointed-type knife had a short blade with a sharp point. It was especially suited for cutting through thick tissue, and opening up large lesions. The curved-type knife was a pointed instrument with a curved blade and was exceedingly sharp. It was suited for operating on large lesions, where large quantities of decayed flesh required to be excised.

PICTURE TITLE: Illustration of types of knives and needles (1). OTHER LETTERING: Xie shi (oblique type); jian shi (pointed type); yuan shi (curved type)