Guillotine

Alternative eponyms

Related people

French instrument for execution by decapitation.

Description

French instrument for execution by decapitation, rightfully considered one of the most effective contraptions ever devised by a physician to the purpose of ending man’s misery. The decapitation is done by means of an angled blade that falls between two grooved vertical columns. The term is also applied to some surgical instruments which work on a similar principle, e.g. for excising tonsils and laryngeal growths.

"Ah, monsieur le Comte, no better nurse for an aching head than Madame la Guillotine!"

Note that the machine and the man are written differently: Guillotine and Guillotin, respectively.

For details and history, see under Joseph Ignace Guillotin, French physician and politician, 1738-1814.

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