chapter 59

is the metallic "syringe" (fig. 15) used to inject medicinal solutions into the bladder: "The hollow passage [of the syringe] should be exactly equal to the plunger it contains and no more, so that when such fluids from an excess of humors are aspirated they will be drawn out, and likewise when the solutions are injected they will be pushed in easily." Such description of the use of a "bladder syringe" in the late 10th century clearly points to the practical and interesting approach to surgery in _al-Taṣrīf_. Moreover, his description of the removal of a stone from the bladder--an operation we now call lithotomy--is considered a contribution to bladder surgery.

One of the earliest recorded operations for the extractions of two dead fetuses from the womb is clearly described in