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The style of the
instrument and the finial of the plunger date this
bone syringe to the early 19th century. It can be
dissembled into its constituent parts. The body is
made from a single hollow tube of bone onto which flat
disks of bone are screwed at either end. The plunger
fits through one of these and waxed chord wound around
the distal end would have made a watertight connection
with the body. The other end accommodates a nozzle
which is also secured with a screw. This may either
have been used as an ear syringe, but it could also
have been used to introduce chemicals per urethra for
the treatment of syphilis and other venereal diseases
which were rife at this time. |
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