13th July
Pat and I continue the process of describing and reflecting on the cabinets in the museum. Today I find myself in front of a cabinet filled with a variety of chrome tools for operations, each adapted for a different task in the operating procedure, perfectly weighted and shaped for the grip of a hand. Next to it hangs a photograph of a team of doctors and nurses standing around an operating table, the patient lies hidden between them, below a pile of sheets. One of the doctors is holding a limb and half turns, his moustached lips smiling to the camera.
Excerpt from Sponge Holding Forceps
Sponge holding forceps
Intestine crushing clamp
Cheatles Sterilised forceps
R B Shears
Someone sat and designed
each object
here on display
for specific use
a pinch of fingers
the exact grasp of a hand
curve
hook
point
to
penetrate
investigate
clamp back
flay
remove
each tool perfectly devised
through practice
for its appropriate action