Chinese woodcut: Fixation appliance for injured kneecap

Woodcut from Shangke buyao (Supplement to Traumatology) by Qian Xiuchang, published in 1818 (23rd year of the Jiaqing reign period of the Qing dynasty), showing an appliance for setting and fixing injured kneecaps. According to the text, if the kneecap is damaged and split, a reticule is made out of silk threads with strips of cloth around the outside, slightly larger in size than the kneecap. It is fastened over the kneecap with four strips of cloth, and the patient is made to lie down with the knee extended. The patient will recover in a month or so.

PICTURE TITLE: Illustration showing the use of the peripatellar fixation appliance