Oakum is the loose fibre obtained by picking old rope to pieces; its main use was in sealing the joints between the wooden planks of boats.
2.
WainwrightPChasF. Thackray Ltd.: suppliers to the surgeons. In: ChartresJHoneymanK, eds. Leeds City Business 1893–1993. Wainright P. Opposite the Infirmary.Leeds: Medical Museum Publishing, 1996.
3.
DasK. Obstetric Forceps: Its History and Evolution.Medical Museum Publishing, Thackray Medical Museum, 131 Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7LP, UK.
4.
European Association of Museums of the History of Medical Sciences (EAMHMS), congress held biennially, open to individuals and institutions other than museums. Enquiries to Dr Ghislaine Lawrence, The Science Museum, London SW7 2DD, UK.
5.
British Society for the History of Medicine, congress held annually. Enquiries to Sue Weir, DHMSA, 64 Roupell Street, London SE1 8SS, UK.
6.
NormanJM, ed. Morton's Medical Bibliography, 5th edn, Garrison and Morton.
7.
Medical Leech Museum, The Gadsden House, 329 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC29401, USA.
8.
WilkinsonIFIsraelsMCG. BMJ1935;i:139–43, 194–7 (Garrison and Morton, ref 3148).
9.
PerretJ-J. L'art du coutelier: expert en instruments de chirurgie (Part 2 of L'art du coutelier), 1772. (Besides describing surgical instrument manufacture, this book contains a priced catalogue).
10.
Alchemical amulets were charms carried around on the person to ward off evil and therefore disease; they were made of the eight metals identified with the sun and seven planets.
