Master Series Rubber Coated Stainless Steel Jennings Gag

Product Information

In german medieval times mouth gags or props were called “Kiefer- or Mundsperre” and were instruments used in torture practice. Besides the fact, that the Christian inquisition is linked with barbarous torture, it was not used principally in every cases. In the beginning of 1220 AD, torture was reintroduced though recommended in Roman law and considered as a legitimately lawful procedure. In torture, especially mouth gags were used to keep the suspects mouth open, leading to dysphagia and jaw pain, inability to speak and swallowing saliva. Additionally, liquids could be instilled causing asphyxia [ 1]. The Jennings Mouth Gag offers a wide range of surgical advantages. Its principal use is to provide an atraumatic way to open the mouth without damaging the temporomandibular joint. The Jennings gag is a modification of the gag introduced in the 1860s by William R. Whitehead, M.D. (1831-1902). Jennings removed the built-in tongue depressor of the Whitehead gag, and simplified the mechanism for opening and closing it. The Whitehead gag has two spring-loaded ratchets. The Jennings gag uses a single ratchet, located on the operator’s right, that can be manipulated by the finger and thumb of one hand. Squeezing the handles together opens the gag. To close it, the ratchet is depressed and the handles pushed apart. Both the Whitehead and Jennings gags are still being made today. Interestingly, in early 1907, Colt already mentioned, that there were enough reasons for bringing forward the subject of a mouth gag designed to suit the needs of the general practitioner, surgeon, dental surgeon and anaesthetist. In those times, he already remarked besides the large number of different gags on the market, that a single perfect gag was missing, which supplies all needs [ 4].

Anesthesiologists are responsible for maintaining the patient's respiration and other vital functions during surgery. Mouth gags are sometimes used to hold the patient's mouth open for dentistry, oral surgery and anesthesia.

Wood Library Museum of Anesthesiology

Anesthesiologists are responsible for maintaining the patient's respiration and other vital functions during surgery. Mouth gags are sometimes used to hold the patient's mouth open for dentistry, oral surgery and anesthesia. Surgical procedures for the repair of cleft palate began in the 18th Century. The first successful cleft palate surgery in the United States was performed in 1820 by John Collins Warren (1778-1856). Since the mid-19th Century, many mouth gags have been designed specifically for these surgeries. One was introduced in 1914 by St. Louis physician John Ellis Jennings (1863-1935).

Notes: Whitehead, WR. Report on the best methods of treatment for different forms of cleft palate. Transactions of the American Medical Association, Volume XX. Philadelphia: Collins, 1869. Until now, mouth gags have been widely used in surgery. A variety of different mouth gags is described and distributed today (Table 1) [ 2– 5, 9]. Already Colt mentioned in 1907, that the number of gags in the market was large, but the number of those, which combine in one instrument all the essentials, is rare [ 4]. Many years later, on a Caribbean work trip, Dingman considered his mouth gag as “happiness” for a surgeon operating on cleft palate, but Millard stated in his book in 1976, that he experienced a couple of difficulties with that gag, mostly with its adaptability to fit to irregular alveolae [ 9]. One was introduced in 1914 by St. Louis physician John Ellis Jennings (1863-1935). Jennings' gag is a modification of the Whitehead gag, which had been introduced some fifty years earlier. Jennings removed the built-in tongue depressor of Whitehead's gag, and simplified the mechanism for adjusting it. The Whitehead gag has two spring-loaded ratchets. The Jennings gag has a single ratchet that can be operated by the finger and thumb of one hand. Squeezing the handles together opens the gag. To close it, the ratchet is depressed and the handles pushed apart. Both the Whitehead and Jennings gags are still being made today. Exhibit History Notes: Jennings JE. The complete removal of the tonsil in its capsule (Sluder method) by means of a new tonsillotome. Medical Fortnightly. 1914; 45:56-58.Notes: Powers & Anderson. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and of Allied Lines. Richmond, Virginia: Powers & Anderson, Inc., 1917:355. Notes: Austrian Difficult Airway/Intubation Registry, Virtual Museum of Equipment for Airway Management. http://www.adair.at/eng/museum/equipment/mouthgags/whiteheadobject01.htm. Accessed June 13, 2017. Notes: One mouth gag; Consists of two sculpted, horizontal bars, hinged together at each end, and connected on the right side to a mechanism for adjusting the space between the bars; The mechanism consists of two handles that are hinged so as to stand perpendicular to the bars; These handles hold a ratchet between them; The end of each handle is scored by hatching on its exterior side (for improved grip); In the short physical description the gag is measured in the fully open position; When the gag is fully closed, the height is 8.5 centimeters; Both bars, and both handles, are marked on the interior with the number: “25”; The lower handle is also marked with the logo, consisting of a circle enclosing the letter “J” superimposed on the letter “S”. Notes: Anesthesiologists are responsible for maintaining the patient’s respiration and other vital functions during surgery. Mouth gags are sometimes used to hold the patient’s mouth open for dentistry, oral surgery and anesthesia. Surgical procedures for the repair of cleft palate began in the 18th Century. The first successful cleft palate surgery in the United States was performed in 1820 by John Collins Warren (1778-1856). Since the mid-19th Century, many mouth gags have been designed specifically for these surgeries. Whitehead gag: invented in 1877 by Walter Whitehead (1840-1913), a surgeon in Manchester, England, [1] consists of two hinged metal frames that wrap around the front of the patient's head and which have sections bent to fit between the front teeth. When spread apart, the frames separate the jaws, holding the mouth open. The desired degree of separation is set and maintained by a ratchet mechanism on each side of the frame.