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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Spatulum Mundani {{!}} Historic Jamestowne |url=https://historicjamestowne.org/collections/artifacts/spatulum-mundani/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> 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 tincture of opium in alcohol commonly used at the time as a painkiller; opioid drugs are known to cause constipation by reducing gut motility.<ref name=":0" /> A drawing of the device is found in his 1617 book {{lang|en-emodeng|The Surgeons Mate|italic=yes}}.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

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.<ref name=":0" /> 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|date=August 2021}}

The term ''mundani'' is apparently derived from the archaic term {{lang|en-emodeng|mundify|italic=yes}} which appeared in a dictionary from 1604 with the definition "to make clean".{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

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.<ref name=Jamestown>William M. Kelso ''Jamestown Rediscovery, Volume 8'' Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, 2004 pg. 44</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Surgical instruments Category:17th century in London Category:17th century in medicine Category:17th-century inventions Category:Constipation