The earliest mention of a black bag

Abstract

A black bag, needed especially for home visits, has been used since the time of Hippocrates who, in his treatise "On good manners", gave the first detailed description of a medical bag with guidelines for the required equipment and structure. Ancient Egyptian and Palestinian references also date back at least two millenniums.

Hermaphroditism, surgical reconstruction of the anatomy of the gonads in ancient Greece as described by Diodorus Siculus (ca 80-20 BC)

“…A plethora of extremely difficult and complicated for the era operations was mentioned, such as cranial trepanation, thoracotomy, and abdominal surgery combined with endotracheal intubation and parenteral nutrition, performed with fine surgical instruments, as well as the application of antiseptics [14][15][16][17]. A series of sophisticated for the era surgical instruments were available, arranged in medical boxes, including various pliable catheters for diverse usage ( Figure 6) [15,18,19]. Moreover, a series of archaeological findings and fragments in ancient treatises document extensive understanding of the diseases of the genital organs by the ancient Greek physicians who performed surgical operations of the genitalia [20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Aspasia and Cleopatra Metrodora, Two Majestic Female Physician – Surgeons in the Early Byzantine Era

“…Dioptras, hedrodiastoleus, mochliskos, ostagra, kauterion, motos moloubus, catheters, metrechytes, agkistra, tricholabis, embryoulkos, staphylagra, osteotomes, scalpels, psalis, spathomele, cyathiscomele (Figure 3), "all placed harmonically inside the surgeon's medical bag, arranged in the most appropriate way, following a methodical layout, as physician cannot keep everything in mind" as Hippocrates stated [31][32][33][34][35]. Thessaly's endemic plant mandrake (Greek: μανδραγόρας) (Figure 4) could have been used as a general anaesthetic (it contains scopolamine), combined with morus alba (Greek: οπός μούρων) and hedera (Greek: οπός κισσού), known sedatives of the era [36,37].…”

Paul of Aegina (ca 625-690 AD): Operating on All, from Lymph Nodes in the Head and Neck to Visceral Organs in the Abdomen

“…Disinfectants were also in use, while the surgeon had a medical box with his drugs and instruments in place. Cranial trepanation, hepatic diseases, breast cancer, battle wounds, and orthopedics were in the surgeons' field [2,4]. Surgery in the Hellenic peninsula reached a point of success, adequate considering the era, while later in Byzantine times, it did not evolve as excepted.…”