Liston-type amputation knife, London, England, 1920-1930
- maker:
- Down Bros Limited
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
License
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Liston's amputation knife with steel blade and nickel plated handle made by Down Bros. of London, English, 1920-1930
Robert Liston (1797-1847), a Scottish surgeon renowned for his speed and precision in surgery, invented this double edged amputation knife. It is made of steel with a nickel-plated handle. Nickel plating was introduced in the 1890s and meant that the knife could be boiled without it rusting and was therefore ideal for aseptic surgery. The knife was made by Down Bros, a leading surgical instrument maker.
A Liston knife was the weapon of choice of the infamous Jack the Ripper, a London serial killer, in 1888. It is thought Jack the Ripper may have had some surgical and anatomical knowledge due to the way he mutilated his female victims.
Details
- Category:
- Surgery
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A270167
- Materials:
- nickel (plated) and steel
- Measurements:
-
blade: 113 mm
- type:
- amputation knife
- taxonomy:
-
- furnishing and equipment
- tools & equipment
- surgical equipment
- surgical instrument
- surgical knife
- credit:
- Down Brothers
