The Michaab was an early
medical device
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
, invented by
Al-Zahrawi
Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn al-'Abbās al-Zahrāwī al-Ansari (; c. 936–1013), popularly known as al-Zahrawi (), Latinisation of names, Latinised as Albucasis or Abulcasis (from Arabic ''Abū al-Qāsim''), was an Arabs, Arab physician, su ...
,
a form of lithotrite which was minimally-invasive. He was able to crush the stone inside the bladder without the need for a surgical incision.
[ It was later modified by , and was used to perform transurethral ]lithotripsy
Lithotripsy is a procedure involving the physical destruction of hardened masses like kidney stones, bezoars or gallstones, which may be done non-invasively. The term is derived from the Greek words meaning "breaking (or pulverizing) stones" ( lit ...
, the first known minimally invasive surgery, to crush stones inside the bladder without having to open the abdomen (lithotomy). To remove a calculus
Calculus is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations.
Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the ...
the instrument was inserted through the urethra
The urethra (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate.
The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...
and holes bored in the stone. Afterwards, it was crushed with the same instrument and resulting fragments aspirated or allowed to flow normally with urine.
References
Medical equipment
Urologic procedures
{{medical-equipment-stub