Liston's bone-cutting forceps reveal much more about his personality as a surgeon. While the patient's leg is being amputated, the surgeon supports it slightly, while a helper bears the majority of the weight. Once the surgeon has nearly completely sawn through the bone, the bone frequently breaks off, leaving a spicule that could cause postoperative inflammation within the stump. The forceps were made to remove that jagged edge. Indeed, the surgeon noted for his quickness should be remembered for his attention to detail as well.

Tourniquets were fashioned of cast brass during the century era of this collection (1800 to 1900), with brass or steel buckles and, in the very late part of the century, German silver or nickel plated. The first straps were typically colorless simple white fabric straps about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. During and after the Civil War, it was common to see red stripe or multi-colored straps, but by the end of the century, white had returned as the dominant color. The shape of the turning 'T' and the style of buckle are both reliable indicators of age. The 'T's on English and European source tourniquets are multi-curved, whereas most, but not all, American makers utilized rectangular 'T's.

Tweezers are used to hold tissue or arteries in place to prevent bleeding. Tweezers were also used to take out bullets and clamp the skin when sowing the skin.

To "breathe a vein," the earliest bloodletters most likely utilized pointed pieces of wood and stone. Today, several steel lancets with flat ebony or ivory handles are available (figure 1). These items are the subject of some debate. To begin, while they are called lancets, others believe they are ink erasers. Many bear the signatures of stationers or cutlers who did not produce surgical equipment. Some of them are unsigned. Some people believe they were utilized for both purposes. Some believe that as bloodletting fell out of popularity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the many unused lancets were sold to stationary stores as "leftover stock" and sold as ink erasers. While I'm not certain, I believe that the often seen ebony-handled steel pointed instruments with clover leaf shaped blades were not utilized for phlebotomy. I just haven't seen much proof of their use in bloodletting.