A fine silver La Foret lachrymal syringe with a full complement of pipes (cannulae), probes and ligature housed in a fitted silk lined green leather case.

These were designed to cannulate and irrigate the lachrymal ducts via a nasolachrymal approach as opposed to Anel’s direct access through the external eye. La Foret noted (1753) that the commonest sites of constriction were at the lower end of the lachrymal duct. English surgeons in the early nineteenth century came to accept the value of syringing using Anel’s pipes  or La Foret’s retrograde pipes according to the skill and fancy of the surgeon.

External Link: Dominique Anel and the Small Lachrymal Syringe by John Price

• From the Phisick collection