wounds of the neck, and although he professes to have seen many nerves
regenerated (_consolidari_) under the simple angle-worm treatment
of his master, he still makes no mention of the painful treatment of
divided nerves by the actual cautery, so highly praised by Roland. It
would seem, therefore, that Gilbert was not familiar with the writings
of Roland when his Compendium was written, or he would, doubtless,
not have omitted so peculiar a plan of treatment in an injury of such
gravity. As Roland's edition of Roger's "Chirurgia" is said to have
been written in 1264, the comparison of these passages would seem to
indicate that Gilbert must have written the Compendium after 1230 and
prior to the year 1264.

Gilbert's surgical chapters discuss the general treatment of wounds
and their complications, and more specifically that of wounds of the
head, neck, throat, wounds of nerves, of the oesophagus, scapula,
clavicle, of the arm, the stomach, intestines and the spleen;
fractures of the clavicle, arm, forearm and ribs; compound fractures;
dislocations of the atlas, jaw, shoulder and elbows; fistulae in
various localities, and the operations on the tonsils and uvula, on
goitre, hernia and stone in the bladder, etc.--certainly a surgical
compendium of no despicable comprehensiveness for a physician of his
age and country.

In the general treatment of wounds (f. 86 c) Gilbert tells us
the surgeon must consider the time, the age of the patient, his
temperament (_complexio_) and the locality, and be prepared to
temper the hot with the cold and the dry with the moist. Measures
for healing, cleansing and consolidation are required in all wounds,
and these objects may, not infrequently, be accomplished by a single
agent. The general dressing of most wounds is a piece of linen