The Frenche chirurgerye, or all the manualle operations of chirurgerye , vvith divers, & sundrye figures, and amongst the rest, certayne nuefovvnde instrumentes, verye necessarye to all the operationes of chirurgerye. Through Iaques Guillemeau, of Orleans ordinarye chirurgiane to the Kinge, and sworen in the citye of Paris. And novv truelye translated out of Dutch into Englishe by A.M.

How we shoulde extirpate, the superfluous, & corrup∣tede fingers, & separate those which are growen, & conioynede together Chap. 6.

* 1.1THe hande, vvhich is an instru∣mente, of instrumentes, is divi∣dede in five fingers: And it som¦times allso chaunceth, that be∣sydes the thumbe, or the little finger, ther grovveth a sixte fin∣ger, vvhich is all carnall, or fleshye, or els com∣posede of some smalle bones: Yet is nether the one nor the other complet, vvhether ye consi∣der ether their figure, or their magnitud, & gre∣atnes, as beinge agaynst the course of nature, vvherthroughe they are an impediment to the actiones of the hand. It may allso vvell chaūce, the one finger of the hande to be pletterede, vvithout beinge able to keepe the same from Gangraenatione. Besydes this ther commethe in the endes of the fingers, somtimes a certayn vlceratione,* 1.2 vvhich is callede Panaris, or Paroni∣chia: The vvhich cause such vehemente payne, throughe the venoumouse matter, that ther∣throughe the bone corrupteth, & rotteth, yea & the inflammatione allso beginneth moste commonlye in the bone: The vvhich to reme∣dye, before that the bone be corruptede, vve muste make an inscision in the end of the fin∣ger according to the length therof, begīning at the extreameste end of the ioyncte, vnto the bare bone, because the venoumouse matter, vvhich lyeth inclosede betvvene the bone, and the pellicle, vvhich covereth the same, mighte have some or other issve. The inscisione beīg done, vve muste suffer it to bleede as longe, till it of it selfe restraygneth & stoppeth, thē thrust the finger in good Aqvavitae, vvherin vve must before dissolve a little Treackle: And if so be notvvithstandīge all these remedyes the finger as yet corrupted farther, and must be extirpated, vve may thē verye aptlye effecte the same vvith our rescindent, or cutting pinsers, vvhervvith, vvithout great payne, vve may vvith,* 1.3 one nipe clippe it of. Ther are other, vvhich lay the fin∣ger on a little blocke of vvoode, & as thē vvith a rasor hevv it of. On this manner also vve may extirpate the superfluouse finger vvherin ther is anye bone.

And soe farre forth as if the fingers, vveare from the nativitye, and birth, or through com∣bustione, or els throughe anye vlceratione, he∣aled and ioyned together, vve must then vvith a rasor, separate them the one from the other, and accordinge to the length ther of cutt them asunder, and then vvith an exsiccating plaster, being separated cure thē, and soe skinne them, by vvhich meanes every finger vvill separatlye heale. If soe be that there came anye vlceration in the finger, after the vvhich there follovveth a deformed Cicatrice, vvherthroughe the fin∣ger, grovveth croocked: VVe must then trye theron some mollifying remedyes, to cause the finger thervvith to rectifye, & grovve straight:

And if soe be by noe meanes it vvilbe soe, as it sometimes chaunceth, vvhen the foresayed Cicatrice is great, and inveterated, & ether the sinnues, tendones or skinne have binne hurt, vve must not therfore proceede vvith the same as a thinge vvhich is incurable, for if soe be vve cutt, ether the one or the other, the finger ther∣after should nether be able to bende, nor stret∣ch out, yet is it necessary that the bendinge, pro∣ceede before the stretchinge out, and the stret∣ching out, or rectifying of the same, before the recurvatione, soe that he shoulde allvvayes be right, and verye inconvenient, as beinge better that he be reasonable croocked, then right, be∣cause of the inconvenience, vvhich ther throu∣ghe vve receave: For vve supposinge to shut, & close the hande, and to fasten on any thing, this finger as then should stand right out: But vvhē it is onlye the skinne vvhich maketh the Cica∣trice, throughe the vvhich the finger is recur∣ved, vve must then cleane cutt of the same for as it beinge harde, & callouse, can not be throu∣ghe the finger erected, and stretched forth.* 1.4 Ha∣vinge therfor novv rectified this finger, by this meanes, vve as thē make a nve Cicatrice ther∣one, & must note that in the generation of the foresayed Cicatrice, the finger doe not chaunce to be agayn recurved, or shrincke vp agayne:* 1.5 to the praevētīg of the vvhich, I knovve noe better meanes, after he be cured, that ther one vve vve∣are a finger case, of lattinne, or of silver, one the plaster, & one the combustion. This fingercase

must be covered vvith Taffatye, or vvith anye other decent substance, & conveniently, vvith a bande, fastened above on the hande, vvhich fingercase shall doe more commoditye, & hel∣pe, thē all the splintes vvhich vve might applye theron.

* 1.6Ther happeneth alsoe a dissease, cleane con∣trarye, vnto all other disseases of the fingers, e∣speciallye in the thumbe, having receaved the∣rone a blovve on the Tendones, vvherby the same is erected, & agayne the foresayed Tendo∣nes beinge cutt of, can in noe sort be agayne e∣levated, nether stretched forth, vvherthroughe he lyeth in the hande immoveable, and can not be stirred. The same chaunceth alsoe in the hande, havinge receaved anye vvounde in the hande one the Tendones, or alsoe above the hande, vvhere throughe the hande hangethe & falleth dovvnevvardes, as is she vveare parali∣ticke, and of her selfe is not able to be lifted vp. As touchīg therfore the thumbe, & the fingers: vve must ether have a thumbcase, or a finger case vvherthroughe they must be heaved vp: And for the hande, a glove, vvherthroughe the hand may be helde vp. VVhich in the boocke of M^r. Pare, are discribed.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The hand is an in∣strument, of instru∣mentes.
• * 1.2

  Curation of the Pa¦naris, or Paroni∣chia.
• * 1.3

  Hovv vve may re∣move the super∣fluous fingers.
• * 1.4

  Curation of a crooc¦ked fin∣ger.
• * 1.5

  A finger-case of lattinne, or of sil∣ver.
• * 1.6

  The thū∣be or the finger beinge vvholely lamed.