Skin Cautery Machine – Neo-Frecator NSL NF-100 (Japan)

Skin Cautery Machine

Cauterization(或cauterisation, orcautery) is a medical practice or technique ofburninga part of a body to remove or close off a part of it. It destroys some tissue in an attempt to mitigatebleeding和损伤,消除一个不受欢迎的增长,或minimize other potential medical harm, such asinfectionswhenantibioticsare unavailable.^[1]

The practice was once widespread for treatment of wounds. Its utility before the advent of antibiotics was said to be effective at more than one level:

• To preventexsanguination
• To closeamputations

Cautery was historically believed to prevent infection, but current research shows that cautery actually increases the risk for infection by causing more tissue damage and providing a more hospitable environment for bacterial growth.^[2]

Actual cauteryrefers to the metal device, generally heated to a dull red glow, that a physician applies to produceblisters, to stopbleedingof ablood vessel, and for other similar purposes.^[3]

The main forms of cauterization used today in thefirst worldareelectrocauteryandchemical cautery—both are, for example, prevalent in the removal of unsightlywarts. Cautery can also mean thebranding of a human, either recreational or forced.

Cauterization was used to stop heavy bleeding, especially during amputation. The procedure was simple: a piece of metal was heated over fire and applied to the wound. This caused tissues and blood to heat rapidly to extreme temperatures, causing coagulation of the blood and thus controlling the bleeding, at the cost of extensive tissue damage.

Cauterization was a common treatment in theMiddle Ages, sometimes unintentionally as withSaint Hubert’s Key.

Cautery is described in theHippocratic Corpus.^[4]Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zahrawi developed techniques and instruments for cauterization and described them in his book Al-Tasrif and these continued to influence medical world for five centuries. The cautery was employed for almost every possible purpose in ancient times: as acounter-irritant, as ahaemostatic, as a bloodless knife, as a means of destroyingtumours, etc.^[5]Later, special medical instruments calledcauterswere used to cauterize动脉. The technique ofligatureof the arteries as an alternative to cauterization was later improved and used more effectively byAmbroise Paré.