Browse Items (51 total)

Dr. Pappas explains that Sir William Wilde (1815-1876) was one of the first to use a tubular speculum to examine the ear, and that his was cone-shaped. Shown here are various examples of such specula from the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences.

Dr. Pappas explains that Sir William Wilde (1815-1876) was one of the first to use a tubular speculum to examine the ear, and that his was cone-shaped. Shown here is an ear speculum with a handle and a light.

Shown here is an example of a tubular ear speculum of the sort introduced by Sir William Wilde. Click here to view a 3D model of this instrument from the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences.

Shown here is an example of the type of mouth mirror used in laryngoscopy.

In the resolution of the priority dispute, the French medical society eventually awarded Turck priority for the introduction of laryngoscopy, and Czermak priority for the introduction of illumination to laryngoscopy. Shown here is an example of a…

Physicians learned quickly that they needed both hands for laryngoscopy, and so several ideas came forth for holding of the head mirror. Czermak suggested the use of a mouth piece to hold the mirror; Semeleder attached the mirror to eyeglasses, but…

In the evolution of the head mirror, it was Turck's idea to attach the mirror to a headband. This idea really took off and even became the symbol of otolaryngologists up until just recently.

Jacob Henle (1809-1885) gave a detailed and complete description of the temporal bone and was the first to describe the suprameatal spine, though he did not show the structure as a landmark to the antrum. Henle's name was attached to it later by…

Dr. Pappas created this shadow box displaying and identifying the temporal bones and structures. A magnified portion of this box shows the mastoid cellular system.

Sir William Macewan (1848-1924) was among the earliest surgeons to attach otitis abscesses through the ear. He learned from his teacher, Joseph Lister, to discard those aesthetic handle instruments made of ivory, ebony, bone and tortoise because they…

Sir William Macewan's teacher, Joseph Lister, came up with chromic suture, but it could not be well sterilized. But Macewen came up with a chromic catgut suture, which could be sterilized, and he himself prepared this before any operation. He…