Naval medical officer’s surgical roll

ACCESSION NUMBER: 004013003
Object Name: Surgical roll
Manufacturer: Attibuted to Maw Son & Sons
Date Made: Second World War, circa 1940
Country of Origin: England
MeSH Code: Medical Subject Headings Military MedicineSurgical instrumentsAmputation — instrumentation

ARTEFACT DESCRIPTION

First designed in the 1800s, soft surgical pocket cases allowed military and naval medical officers to carry a small supply of medical instruments and medications for medical emergencies.  This portable canvas case once used by a Royal Canadian Navy medical officer during the Second World War can be sterilised, is light, and fits into a pocket.  It contains a supply of Novocaine, the trade name of the first synthetic local anaesthetic Procaine.  German chemist Alfred Einhorn developed Procaine in 1905 to mimic the painkilling effects of cocaine without its unsafe and addictive qualities.

Related: Canadian, Doctors, Military

 

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