| Description | This is a folding tongue depressor of the Wise’s type. It consists of two steel pieces hinged together, one wider than the other, facilitating its folding. It appears discoloured.
This instrument was employed to be inserted into the mouth to depress the tongue, thereby enabling a better view of the throat and oral cavity. It was designed by Alfred Wise in 1880.
In his article in the Lancet (1880:518), he describes it as follows:
"The advantages it possesses over the ordinary clumsy instrument are, that the tendency to retching is lessened by the smaller surface of metal inserted into the mouth. The tongue is not concealed by it; and with patients who have the knack of "hawing up" the tongue, the sides of the instrument, which press into its substance, admit of a view of the fauces, which would be impossible with the old instrument. I have found it useful in the examination of the irritable throat of phthisis, where the ordinary mass of metal introduced into the mouth renders a view impossible by reason of the discomfort and irritation produced. It is light and portable, of much less cost than the ordinary form, and easily cleaned. The woodcut represents one pattern with a handle for hospital use, and the other jointed for the pocket." |