Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and TechnologyDavis, Audrey B.
History
Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology
Davis, Audrey B.
National Museum of History and Technology; Phlebotomy -- History; Phlebotomy -- Instruments -- Catalogs
Stern also invented a theory to account for the therapeutic effects of his
inventions, namely, the theory of phlebostasis. Instead of pumping air out
of a device, Stern pumped air into a device, for the same purpose of
removing a portion of blood from the general circulation. His
"phlebostate," manufactured by Kny-Scheerer of New York, was quite similar
to a sphygmomanometer. It consisted of a set of cuffs that fit about the
thighs, rubber tubes, a manometer, and a suction bulb or an electric force
pump. For stubborn cases, such as migraine headaches, Stern recommended
using the cuffs for 30 minutes or more. To facilitate the application of
the cuffs, Stern invented a "phlebostasis chair," one of the most complex
"cupping" devices ever made. Like an electric chair, the phlebostasis
chair was supplied with cuffs for both arms and legs. Air was pumped into
the cuffs by means of an electric motor. According to Stern, compression
of the upper segment of both arms withheld 300 cc of blood from
circulation, while compression of the thighs withheld as much as 600
cc.[170]
In addition to these sophisticated devices, simple cupping, especially dry
cupping, continued well into the 1930s. Although cupping was no longer
generally recommended by physicians, most surgical companies advertised
cups, scarificators, and cupping sets in the 1920s and even the 1930s. The
last bastions of cupping in the United States were the immigrant sections
of large cities. In the lower East Side of New York, in particular,
cupping was still flourishing in the 1920s. By then cupping was no longer
performed by the physician, but had been relegated back to the lowly
barber, who advertised in his shop window, "Cups for Colds."[171]
Leeching
_Leeches_
The word "leech" derives from the Anglo-Saxon _loece_, "to heal." Thus,
the Anglo-Saxon physician was called a "leech" and his textbook of
therapeutic methods a "leechdom." The animal itself was already known to
the ancients under its Latin name _hirudino_. It appears, however, that
the introduction of leeches into Western medicine came somewhat later than
that of phlebotomy or cupping, for Hippocrates made no mention of them.
The earliest references to the use of leeches in medicine are found in
Nicander of Colophon (2nd century B.C.) and in Themison (1st century
B.C.). Thereafter they were mentioned by most Greek, Roman, and Arabic
medical writers.[172]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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