Leech, Ar-ti-fi′cial.
（Surgical.) A light glass tube from which the air is expelled by the vapor of ether, and whose mouth is then applied to a previously scarified portion of the body. To expel the air from a tube, a few drops of ether are poured into it, and it is then immersed as far as the mouth in hot water until the ether boils briskly. The mouth of the tube is then applied to the skin, and held for an instant, when it will be found to be firmly attached, and can be left to itself. Each tube will draw about two ounces of blood. For uterine practice they are made long enough to be applied through a speculum. The scarifier is simply a tube one eighth inch in diameter, having a cutting-edge at one extremity. By a simple device this is made to rotate rapidly, making, when applied to the skin, a circular incision, the depth of which is regulated by a gage. In the cut, a represents the buttons by turning which the instrument is wound up, d the trigger by which the spring is released, c the cutting-edge, and b the gage for regulating the depth of the incision. Themison, a physician of Laodicea who flourished a little before Celsus (first century A. D.), mentions the use of leeches. Michael Servetus, burnt at Geneva in 1553, announced and explained the circulation of the blood, correctly describing the action of the heart, the duty of the arteries and the veins, and the influence of the lungs. He correctly describes the single circulation, and is the first to employ the term of anastomosis to express the communication between the veins and arteries in the tissues. See Servetus, “De Christianissimi Restitutione.” See lancet. [1284]
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| Leer. |
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| Elevator-leg. |
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| Artificial legs. |
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| Artificial legs. |
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| Iron-leg. |
