Chainsaws Were Originally Invented To Help With Childbirth

By Zainab Pervez in History On 21st July 2022
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When you hear the word chainsaw, you probably imagine lumberjacks chopping wood, but the chainsaw has a much more surprising medical use that you may not be aware of.

Yes, the chainsaw was originally invented to assist in childbirth. Before the common use of the caesarian section, all babies had to be passed through the birth canal. But, as we know, babies can become obstructed in the there if they are breech or too large. When babies couldn't fit through or they would get stuck in the pelvis, parts of bone and cartridge were removed to create more space for the baby. This is called a "symphysiotomy".

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The procedure was previously performed with a small knife and saw. The surgery took a long time and was done without any anaesthetic so, it was very painful. But in the late 18th century, two Scottish doctors, John Aitken and James Jeffray, came up with a solution for getting the job done much more quickly and efficiently: an actual chainsaw for the groin. The world's first chainsaw was a flexible saw based on a watch chain with teeth that were moved around with a hand-crank. The chainsaw sped up the process and was a success. It continued to be used for most of the 19th century. 

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The original chainsaw looked more like a modern-day kitchen knife than what we would call a chainsaw nowadays. It had little teeth on a chain that wound in an oval and first appeared in the late 18th century.

They were invented for use in medical procedures to help ease the task of cutting through bone. It was used for various bone-cutting operations and amputations during surgery until medical advances saw it phased out. 

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Symphysiotomies are no longer performed, since the procedure carried the risk of urethral and bladder injury, infection, pain, and long-term walking difficulty. But sometimes still happen in "Third World" countries where an operating room for a caesarian section is unavailable. But they are no longer performed in the United States.

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It wasn't until 1905 that somebody thought of this horror device and decided to apply it to trees.

In 1883, a patent for a chainsaw for cutting boards was passed and then subsequently more and more chainsaws developed. They became larger and more powerful and eventually grew to be the brutal chopping device we know today.

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Dr Mark Skippen, from Swansea University, said: "The chainsaw is a good example of technological innovations that end up being used for different purposes to their original intention.

"Based on the design of a watch chain, the original chainsaw devised in Scotland has since led to tools used in obstetrics, orthopaedics, neurosurgery and now tree surgery worldwide."