Spatula Mundani

The Spatula Mundani was a surgical device invented in the 17th century by the London surgeon James Woodall to treat extreme cases of severe constipation where purgatives had failed.^[1] Woodall believed that the cause of this malady was from scurvy, but speculation is that many of the cases were from the abuse of laudanum, a popular painkiller of the time.^{[citation needed]} A drawing of the device is found in his 1617 book The Surgeons Mate.^{[citation needed]}

The device was an iron tool slightly longer than 12 inches and consisted of a paddle at one end. The other end was spoon-shaped, with the center removed and a knob at the end.^{[citation needed]} The spoon end was used to extract the "hard excrements" while the other was used for applying ointments, no doubt necessary after undergoing a procedure with this instrument.^{[citation needed]}

The term mundani is apparently derived from the archaic term mundify which appeared in a dictionary from 1604 with the definition "to make clean".^{[citation needed]}

On an archaeological dig at the Jamestown, Virginia, colonies a spatula mundani was found, and documents from 1608 report that it was part of a chest of surgeon's tools sent by Woodall to the colonies.^[2]

See also

• Instruments used in general surgery
• Fecal impaction

References

1. "Spatulum Mundani | Historic Jamestowne". Retrieved 2024-03-09.
2. William M. Kelso Jamestown Rediscovery, Volume 8 Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, 2004 pg. 44