The man who left us his 'Ch'

摘要

The name Joseph-Frederic-Benoit Charriere may not roll easily off the tongue, and its 19th century owner may now be largely forgotten. But although few will be aware of his full name, the first two letters of his surname still live on in the field of urology. Of Swiss descent, Charriere lived and worked in Paris, where he was a renowned cutler and surgical instrument maker. Modern developments in surgery owe a lot to his profession, and Charriere is credited with the crossing the legs of forceps so that they open when compressed and close on release, the idea behind spring forceps. He also designed the screw-action lithotrite, an instrument that is passed through the urethra to facilitate the crushing of bladder stones.