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Lancets: Bloodletting was a common but already controversial practice by the late eighteenth century. Although it was often done in the Public Hospital, the doctors generally preferred to use drugs and cold baths.
Scarificators: Developed in the late 1600s, the scarificators (also called scarifactors) were called "the new way" to bleed the sick, mental patients included. The doctor released the sharp blades by pulling the trigger. To collect the blood, he used small glass cups.
Cupping Glasses: To "dry cup" a patient, doctors warmed one of these dome-like instruments and placed it on the patient's temple or the base of the spine. Blood would come to the surface, but none was removed. When "wet cupping," the skin was pierced with a scarificator and blood was drawn. |