chapter 45

) instruments used in the treatment of hernia (fig. 6).

The second section (bāb), with about 99 chapters,[20] deals with incision, puncturing, venesection, cupping, surgery on abscesses, and the withdrawal of arrows from the body. Al-Zahrāwī warns that ignorance in such operations may lead to damage of an artery or vein, causing loss of blood "by which life is sustained."[21] Moreover, needle and thread (more than one kind is mentioned) for the stitching of wounds are repeatedly recommended.

According to al-Zahrāwī, foreign bodies that lodge in the ear (