RCSI Heritage Collections

Please welcome the second item to take the spotlight in our 'Intriguing Heritage Items' series...... The Surgeons' Mate or Military and Domestique Surgery  by John Woodall   The Surgeon's Mate by John Woodall dated 1639 Woodall himself can be seen in the bottom middle portrait This copy of John Woodall's book is housed in the RCSI Mercer Library and dates from 1639. Woodall was an English surgeon born in 1570 who lived for long periods in Germany, Poland, Holland and mainland Europe. In 1604 when King James I of England sent an embassy to Poland and Russia, Woodall was included because of his knowledge of these countries and their languages. The man leading this embassy was Sir Thomas Smith was Governor of the East India Company and soon to be employer of Woodall. In 1612 Woodall was appointed Surgeon General of the East India Company.  Woodall's career continued upwards and he was appointed surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1616

Rolled up x-ray prints While wandering through the archives just before the Christmas holidays, the two rolled up bundles shown above caught our attention. Written on one of the bundles was the word 'X-rays' while on the other one can make ' Mauser in abdomen...' On returning from the holidays it was decided to investigate further. And what a belated Christmas present we found! All together there are 28 x-ray prints in fairly good condition. Not only that, the majority of them have details about the injury shown in the x-ray, where it happened, when it happened and how it happened written on the back. An archivist's delight! So when are the majority of these x-ray prints from you ask?? Black Week (10-17 December 1899) of the Second Boer War  The first print to be unfurled was the one with 'Mauser' written on it. The handwritten note states 'Mauser in abdomen - lodged in front colon - localised and extracted'. The print itself is below