People are only just discovering the gruesome reason why chainsaws were invented

30 December 2023 , 11:27

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Chainsaws weren't invented to cut down trees (Image: Getty Images)

They've been given legendary status in horror films but are more commonly known for cutting down trees, however, their origin is somewhat more gruesome.

Chainsaws are portable power tools that require expert training and users quite often need a certificate of competence to be able to legally use them. Injuries are not uncommon, with around 28,000 chainsaw-related incidents in the US each year, according to the National Library of Medicine.

And of course, one was used to particularly gory effect by Leatherface in the classic horror movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre while another was wielded by the hero in Evil Dead II. But it was actually two Scottish surgeons – John Aitken and James Jeffray – that created the first chainsaw, in 1780 and it was used to assist childbirth.

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An image of the early chainsaw (Wikipedia)

Before the caesarian section became common, all foetuses had to pass through the birth canal. So, when a baby became stuck or breached – which is when the child lies feet first in the womb instead of the usual head-first position – doctors had to remove parts of cartilage, flesh, and bone to create space – and the procedure was called a symphysiotomy.

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Surgeons used to perform the painful and messy procedure using a knife and a small saw, however, this was a drawn-out and painful operation and anaesthesia wasn't invented until 1846. So the bright pair came up with the original chainsaw, which later developed into the osteotome, allowing surgeons to widen the pubic cartilage and cut away diseased bone.

It was powered by a hand crank with teeth that moved along a chain and the invention was a lot smaller and didn't look quite as big and scary as the modern equivalent. And even its inventors had a fairly gruesome backstory. Aitken became a surgeon in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but he also gave medical lectures and demonstrations to university students, while Dr Aitken’s partner in the invention Dr Jeffray, who studied at both Glasgow University and Edinburgh University was known for dissecting the bodies of people executed for murder.

Of course, according to the Daily Mail, as social media users started to discover this information many people said they were shocked at the tool's origins. On X (formerly Twitter ), one person said: "Think medicine cares about women's pain, either historically or presently? Look up what the chainsaw was initially invented to do. I dare you," while others jumped in and said: "Do not look up why was the chainsaw invented. Be grateful for modern medicine and if you’re not go Google why the chainsaw was invented." And a third simply stated: "Oh my God that’s medieval!"

Paul Donald