This illustrated overview is one in a series of three concerned with HAND, SURGERY and WOUND.

This overview presents HANDy ideas about CHEIRO or CHIRO and how from mythical CHEIRON arose MANUal or MANipulative medicine such as is SURGERY and CHIROPRACTIC therapy. Two other overviews are concerned with ideas in HAND and their relationship to MANUAL (MANo is HAND in Spanish), FIRST, FIST, PUG, PUGnatious, PYGmies, WOUND, TEAR, VULTURE, VULNERABLE, WOLF, surgery and CHIROpractic medicine.

Surgery was often in the hands of narrow minded (funnel) quacks aided by closed minded (closed book) assistants.

HAND in Greek is CHEIRO and should not to be confused with CHEILO, which is Greek for lip. From CHEIRO, we get CHEIROURGOS, CHIRURGOS, CHIRURGH, CHIRURGIEN, CIRUJANO and SURGIEN which in Greek, Latin, Ukrainian, French, Spanish and French relate to  SURGERY and its mythical personification in CHEIRON or CHIRON.

The centaur Cheiron or Chiron taught manual skills to Achilles.

CHIROpractors or CHEIROpractors specialize in MANipulation. On the other HAND, a CHIRURG or SURGEON works in a CHIROPHANO or QUIROFANO, terms used to denote surgical operating rooms.

Among related terms to CHEIRO are CHIRAGRA, for hand pain from gout, CHIROGRAPHUM for handwriting, CHIRONOMIA, for talking with hands and CHIROMANCY for palmistry or a faith in the supernatural ability to read fortunes from the patterns of the lines on the palm. These terms underscore the importance of the CENTAUR or KENTAUROS CHEIRON.

Cheiron taught manual skills to Aesculapius, the father of Medicine.

CHEIRON is a mythic figure personified as a most learned, wise and gentle of the Centaurs. Beloved of the Gods, CHEIRON reared many heroes, most importantly AESCULAPIUS, the father of MEDICINE. Although CHEIRON was the primeval teacher of surgery, none the less physicians were reVULsed for at the idea of including SURGEONS in their midst. The objection being that surgeons were "manual workers". To this day, CHIROpractors and physicians rarely fraternize.

Larygeal surgical exploratory instruments are life savers.

CHEIRON or CHIRON also illustrates that chronic pain can become unbearable and may induce the wish for death and justify suicide. Although CHEIRON was immortal, he did feel pain. After being WOUNDed by a poisoned arrow CHIRON developed unbearable pain. Prometheus agreed to relieve CHIRON from his immortality so he could die. After Cheiron died or committed suicide, the Gods invited him back to Olympus.

In some countries Dentists are required to hold a degree in Medicine.

At this point, two paths are open for further explorations; One is concerned with HAND, and the other with SURGERY.