Dentistry only emerged as a sub-discipline of medical science around 1830 and ‘professionals’ practicing at that time were poorly trained if trained at all. Still, tooth filling dates to the early third millennium B.C., and a form of cosmetic false teeth were fashioned by the Etruscans around 970 B.C. Specialized scalpels, probes, forceps, lancets and other delicate tools have been designed specifically for dentistry and can be found as sets. During the middle ages a specialized tool for tooth extraction was called the ‘pelican’ because of the shape of its pinchers. The tooth key, invented in 1742, consists of a key operated claw attached to a wood or ivory handle. Dental burs linked to long thin hand-operated spring gears for grinding teeth and different types of pluggers for packing gold into fillings were patented during the mid-1800s. In 1790 George Washington’s dentist, John Greenwood devised the first powered dental drill, using a spinning wheel as the power source. A motorized dental drill was developed around 1860 and the high speed ‘painless’ drill much like our modern ones was invented in 1957. Pain is a relative thing.

Perhaps the most widely recognized instrument of medical examination is the binaural stethoscope with two ear tubes, patented in 1855 and used to detect cardio and respiratory abnormalities. The earlier version, the monaural stethoscope, is a simple wooden tube with a flare like a bugle at one end. Craniometers and cephalometers originated in the 1820s and 1838, respectively, to relate the shape of the human skull to mental attributes (phrenology). The sphygmograph, invented in 1860, graphs pulse rate, succeeded in 1881 by the sphygmomanometer which in turn evolved in 1886 with the now familiar inflatable arm band;. the hemoglobinometer that measures red pigment in blood; and the haemacytometer, which consists of a pair of small thermometer-like pipettes and used to examine white and red corpuscles. The tuning fork, invented in 1771, became important in physics, then in hearing diagnosis a century later. They were superceded by electronic vacuum tubes during the 1920s, then electronic devices by the end of the millennium. An Olfactory tester from the early 1800s tests smell sensation. The Tachistoscope, a mechanical device that tests visual attention and response time to a variety of stimuli was developed in the 1890s. Modern counterparts are electronic and digital. Electrical shock treatment began in the 1700s and in 1782 a medical electrical machine or induction coil was patented. A single filament, hung between the poles of a magnet were used in 1897 as electrocardiographs. The similar electroencephalograph, invented in 1902, measures electrical activity in the brain. These devices derive from the kymograph, an instrument invented by Wilhem Wundt in the 1840s. Galvanometers were used in 1844 to develop the first electromyographs to detect electrical currents related to muscle activity, and the electroretinographs that study electric potential in the retina related to reaction to light intensity emerged in 1849. The polygraph, well known today as the lie detector, is a physiological instrument designed originally in the 1860s to study interrelationships between the respiratory system, pulse rate and muscle nerve reaction.

Optometry originated with magnifying eyeglasses to correct for farsightedness in the 1200s A.D. but it was largely a trial and error practice. Then in 1450 Nicholas Krebs invented distance spectacles for nearsightedness. Eye surgery tools are more delicate than general surgery instruments and many, like the cyst and ulcer scoop, corneal splitting wedge, and some scissors, needles, probes and scalpels are specialized. Sets of eye surgical instruments were arranged in fitted wooden boxes. Eye testing kits or trial cases can include over 100 bi-convex and bi-concave lenses and accessories arranged in a fitted box. The ophthalmoscope, invented in 1850 by Hermann von Helmholtz, is a clever diagnostic instrument that reflects indirect light into the eye so a physician can view the retina. Around 1915 ophthalmoscopes were fitted with dry cell batteries. The ophthalmotonometer, which measures the inter-ocular pressure in the eye was invented in 1862, but only came into general use after 1905. The retinoscope, introduced in 1873, is simply a beam of light passed over the patient’s pupil from which the examiner estimates refraction error from the retinal reflection. The variator, an advanced type of retinoscope invented in 1932 uses adjustable telescopes that act as correcting lenses to measure refraction error.

Cutting instruments, including scalpels, saws and knives, needles, forceps, hand drills, probes and trepanning tools (made to cut or drill holes in the scull) are among the oldest medical instruments, dating to the 1600s and earlier. Catheters, usually made of silver, date to the time of the Romans. Cased, fitted, surgical, midwifery, lithotomy and post mortem kits dating from the late 1700s well into the 1900s are highly collectable.

Electrical shock treatment began in the 1700s, and in 1782 a medical electrical machine or induction coil was patented by Edward Nairne. Many machines dating to the 1800s use a small generator and a large bar magnet connected to wheels and a crank that’s wired to two brass handles to shock the patient. Sensitive string galvanometers consisting simply of a single filament hung between the poles of a magnet, were used in 1897 by medical doctors as electrocardiographs to record electric currents generated by heartbeat through electrodes applied to the chest. A similar electroencephalograph was used to measure electrical activity in the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp in 1902. These devises derive from the kymograph, an instrument invented by Wilhem Wundt in the 1840s. Galvanometers were also used as the first electromyographs to detect electrical currents related to muscle action in 1844 and electroretinographs to study electric potential in the retina related to reaction to light intensity in 1849. These recording instruments evolved into bulky, cumbersome and not very practical instruments through the 1800s to be replaced by highly efficient computerized systems by the late twentieth century. The polygraph, well known today as the lie detector, is a physiological instrument designed originally in the 1860s to study interrelationships between the respiratory system, pulse rate and muscle nerve reaction simultaneously and graph the results. It combines a cardiograph, sphygmograph, air tubes and tambour.