As one can imagine, treating an anemic patient by removing even more blood was not the best of ideas. Bloodletting was used to treat everything from fever and madness to anemia and debility. Virtually every known medical condition at one time or another was treated by these methods. An imbalance in these humors was postulated as the need for bloodletting, purging, vomiting, etc.

An early theory was that there were four main bodily humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. It is perhaps these signs in nature that led early civilizations to put it all together: bleeding must have some beneficial value!įrom these simple observations came increasingly complex theories as to why bloodletting was necessary and how it worked. Additionally, there were many human examples of bleeding such as spontaneous nosebleeds and menstruation that had yet to be explained. strongly believed in bleeding patients it is likely that this was done in Egyptian times and probably even before that.Įarly civilizations may have been inspired by seeing bats remove blood from animals, hippos scratching on trees until they bled, and other animals scratching at diseased body parts for relief.

The followers of Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. The practice of bloodletting, or phlebotomy, dates back to antiquity. Although the goal was to rid the body of unwanted influences on overall health, it most often did more harm than good. Antique bloodletting or Phlebotomy instruments have long been a collectible within the medical field that crosses over with collections prized by tattoo artists, civil war enthusiasts, tools, and others interested in the history of this once common practice.

Bloodletting & miraculous cures stories