Civil War Catheters and Sounds

By Dr. Michael Echols, American Civil War Surgical Antiques

Most major multi-level, military-use, Civil War surgical sets should have at least a few silver catheters and sounds (bogies) remaining in the lower portion of the case.  Unfortunately, few sets will survive with a full complement.  With larger sets, when the upper tray is removed, the lower part of the case is subdivided with multi-curved grooves which would have held a set of catheters and sounds.  If the set was made for military use, there will only be male catheters and sounds, which are longer and have more curves to navigate the longer male urethrea.

Catheters were inserted into the male urethrea to drain the bladder, whereas sounds were used to progressively distend and open the urethrea prior to draining or a surgical operation for kidney stones or gunshot damage.  The thin hollow metal catheters were made of silver and will usually be dark due to discoloration of the silver (patina), the heavier metal sounds used during the Civil War are usually solid curved rods in progressively larger sizes, are unmarked, and do not have any names or numbers on the surfaces.  (Sounds from some later sets during the War may be maker marked on a large tab and have progressive size numbers, but it all depends on the maker.)

Curved catheters and sounds in the lower half of a U. S. Army Hosptial Dept. Civil War surgical set

As mentioned above, later Civil War and post-Civil War sounds may have a wide holding tab at the end which is stamped with progressively larger numbers in relation to the increasing sizes and frequently the makers name.  The specifications shown in the Revised Army Supply Table, specifically notes size numbers for some sounds used in military specified sets.  But, you have to be very careful about claiming the later type of sounds are from the Civil War era, most are not and the post-Civil War types are very obvious to collectors.

The shorter female sounds and catheters are not found in Civil War military sets, but may be found in leather pocket surgical kits carried by non-military surgeons.  Male catheters in leather pocket surgical kits are in sections which generally screw or lock together for insertion.

In some sets you may be lucky enough to find individual or fused soft leather 'French' catheters with ivory tips which appear to be melted together.  They are also called 'gum-elastic' catheters. Usually these were removed or discarded at some point over the years as they did not hold up to heat or aging. 

Many of the thin, hollow silver catheters are bent or broken during use or just never returned to the set and thus missing.  Both catheters and sounds come in various diameters and the slots in the bottom of the case will be sectioned for the various sizes.

Identifying the exact type of sound or catheter that belongs in a given set is not easy and requires being lucky enough to have seen many sets to identify the correct type that belongs in a given set.

Above: A pocket surgical kit catheter dissembled to fit in the leather case

Above: center, multiple Civil War era metal catheters, left showing the drain hole, right showing the small tie loops used to prevent dislodging of the catheter with a string or ribbon

Above: soft, flexible, imported French leather catheters, which were inserted and could be left in the urethra longer than the metal type

Above: a set of unmarked solid metal sounds, typical of those which would be found in a Civl War military set

I suppose it is possible, but I have never seen or heard of a full set of sounds in a wood or leatherette case like you see post-Civil War.  After the War, it is not unusual to find Tiemann, Gemrig, or other makers who put up sets of sounds in all sizes in a wood case.  I have not seen a set of marked sounds in a case from the Civil War or earlier, but the Revised Army Supply Table says they were specified with numbers.  It may be that the numbers were just not stamped on the sounds and that would explain their absence.   Snowden and Brother's pre-Civil War catalog shows individual unmarked metal catheters and sounds for sale, but not in cased sets as would be seen in the Tiemann or Gemrig catalogs in the 1870's or later.  If you see a cased set of marked sounds, just figure they are post-1870.

Dr. Michael Echols is strictly a collector of surgical antiques and is not a dealer.  For additional information on this topic, please search for his web site:

American Civil War Surgical Antiques

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