This instrument was designed to remove swallowed foreign bodies. The patient would be asked to swallow the tip and the flexible stem would be passed along the length of the oesophagus below the FB.

The thumb ring and finger hold would then be pushed together causing flattening of the bristle (see photo). The instrument would then be removed, hopefully pulling out the FB with it. Unused instrument in its original wrapper as marked F1728 in Feix catalogue. Feix was founded in 1894.

• From the Phisick collection