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Aug 19, 1500
Barber-surgeon bloodletting
In this drawing, a woman is seated in a chair with a bowl on her lap, while blood pours from her left arm. A barber-surgeon holds her upright to prevent her from fainting. Barber-surgeons commonly performed bloodletting practices, in which they would either cut open the arm or put leeches on in order to remove "toxic" or unclean blood from the body. This barbaric practice would be used for centuries. -
Scarificator
This is a picture of a scarificator, a tool used to make the process of bloodletting easier. This tool greatly simplified the process, and was supposedly a more humane way to practice bloodletting as opposed to lancets or fleams. By the 19th century, this tool was extremely popular, which made bloodletting more commonplace. -
Lobotomy
The lobotomy was a type of brain surgery in which the connection between the frontal lobe and other parts of the brain is severed. This was believed to cure many mental illnesses for a long time. This is a side by side picture comparison of a lobotomy patient directly after the operation and one year later. It says that the patient suffered from depression of 4 years and pain in the right eye. A year later, she is "indolent and euphoric" and now suffers from seizures.