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
Decapitating hook, Galabin, steel, ebony handle, by Down Bros. of London, second half 19th century
This steel decapitating hook was a destructive obstetric tool. It is shaped like an umbrella handle. It removed a dead foetus from within the mother’s body. The simple design inserted into the mother’s birth canal and hooked onto part of the child. The sturdy handle gave the physician good grip when extracting the body. This decapitating hook is serrated on the inner edge. It extracted the whole body or parts of the body. It was made by London-based surgical instrument makers Down Brothers.
Details
- Category:
- Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Contraception
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A615367
- Materials:
- ebony and steel (chromium-plated)
- type:
- decapitating hook
- taxonomy:
-
- furnishing and equipment
- tools & equipment
- medical instrument
- obstetrical instrument
- credit:
- Down Brothers
