The navy Surgeon's playground

This seems to be a rather interesting article on the tools of the trade a navy surgeon would use in the Napoleonic era.

It begins by elaborating on the importance of the tools and the fact that the surgeons would not only be checked for their knowledge but that their chests would also be checked to contain the adequate tools. They would then be sealed and were not to be opened until placed onto the ship. The practice described seems to be later abolished or atleast no longer mentioned. The interesting tidbit of information concerns the surgeons of the military, for which it suggests to receive their tools as purchased by the army and also the comparison of the two lines of service and the payment of the surgeon. The article further provides us with a list from 1812, of the instruments that were supposed to be kept by a naval surgeon. It also presents the reader with some examples of problems and common injuries that could bother the patients and ways the surgeon would solve them and instruments he would need for it. Among other duties that befell a surgeon was also one of providing dentistry care to the afflicted. This could be a particularly grave problem when on board a ship and the problem of scurvy was not unknown.

So enjoy the reading, there are also some photos of the instruments too:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1079363/