Watching: Turn-of-the-Century Surgery

Overview

In a hospital ward, a patient—under the influence of chloroform—is left to a surgeon, who removes one of his arms and one of his legs, leaving the task of bandaging to the interns. The interns decide to search through a large jar containing various arms and legs, looking for replacements for the limbs the surgeon had removed; they manage, after a fashion, to restore the amputee’s full complement of limbs. Upon being jolted awake by a sharp slap and a few cuffs, the patient is overcome with wild joy at the sight of his body once again complete.