[152] Patent specifications, U.S. patent 8095.
[153] Dyce Duckworth, “On the Employment of Dry-Cupping,” The Practitioner: A Monthly Journal of Therapeutics, volume 2 (1869), page 153.
[154] Ibid., page 155. For more information on counter-irritation, see Brockbank, op. cit. [note 88]. Blisters were substances (including mustard and cantharides) that when applied to the skin, occasioned a serous secretion and the raising of the epidermis to form a vesicle. Cautery was the application of a red-hot iron to the skin. A seton was a long strip of linen or cotton thread passed through the skin by a seton needle. Each day a fresh piece of thread was drawn through the sore. Moxa were cones of cotton wool or other substances which were placed upon the skin and burned.
[155] Charles Baunscheidt, Baunscheidtismus, by the Inventor of the New Curing Method, 1st English edition, translated from the 6th German edition by John Cheyne and L. Hayman (Bonn., 1859?).
[156] The patent models are in the Smithsonian collection. See “Catalog” herein. The Aima Tomaton, a device invented and manufactured by Dr. L. M’Kay, was yet another American variation on the Lebenswecker. See L. M’Kay, Aima Tomaton: Or New Cupping and Puncturing Apparatus (Rochester, 1870). An example can be found in the collection of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
[157] See Duckworth, op. cit. [note 153]; Isaac Hoover, “An Essay on Dry Cupping,” Transactions of the Belmont Medical Society for 1847-48-49-50 (Bridgeport, 1851), pages 30-32; Marshall Hall, Practical Observations and Suggestions in Medicine (London, 1845), pages 51-53; and B. H. Washington, “Remarks on Dry Cupping,” The New Jersey Medical Reporter and Transactions of the New Jersey Medical Society (1852-53), pages 278-281.
[158] Casper Wistar Pennock, “Observations and Experiments on the Efficacy and Modus Operandi of Cupping-Glasses in Preventing and Arresting the Effects of Poisoned Wounds,” The American Journal of Medical Sciences, volume 2 (1828), pages 9-26. For a discussion of the debate over absorption, see Knox, op. cit. [note 2], pages 21-24.
[159] Tiemann, op. cit. [note 144], pages 116, 800.
[160] Victor-Théodore Junod, A Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Hemospasia, translated by Mrs. E. Howley Palmer (London, 1879).
[161] Heinrich Stern, Theory and Practice of Bloodletting (New York: Rebman Co., 1915), pages 71-72.
[162] August Bier, Hyperemia as a Therapeutic Agent (Chicago, 1905), page 21.
[163] Willy Meyer and Victor Schmieden, Bier’s Hyperemic Treatment, 2nd edition (Philadelphia, 1909).
[164] Haller, op. cit. [note 88; see also note 72], page 585.
[165] Gross, op. cit. [note 143], volume 2, page 906.
[166] Such a breast pump was illustrated by Heister (1719), op. cit. [note 17], plate 14. All glass breast pumps were probably more typical of the eighteenth than the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century the glass tube was replaced by a flexible tube with a mouthpiece.
[167] For example, see The J. Durbin Surgical Supply Co., Standard Surgical Instruments (Denver, 1929), page 59.
[168] Data on the numbers of breast pumps patented was obtained from the files of the U.S. Patent Office in Arlington, Virginia.
[169] Patent specifications, U.S. patent 1179129. For other illustrations of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century patents for cupping devices, see Haller, op. cit. [note 88].
[170] Stern, op. cit. [note 85], page 74.
[171] Mabelle S. Welsh, “‘Cups for Colds’: The Barber, the Surgeon and the Nurse,” The American Journal of Nursing, volume 19 (1918-19), pages 763-766. See also Haller, op. cit. [note 88], and J. Epstein, “The Therapeutic Value of Cupping: Its Use and Abuse,” New York Medical Journal, volume 112 (1920), pages 584-585.
[172] Thorndike, op. cit. [note 3], page 477. For bibliography on leeching, see Brockbank, op. cit. [note 88]; Merat, “Sangsue,” Dictionnaire des sciences médicales, volume 49 (1820), pages 520-541; G. Carlet and Emile Bertin, “Sangsue,” Dictionnaire encyclopédique des sciences médicales, 3rd series, volume 6 (1878), pages 660-681; and the Index Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General’s Office, U.S. Army.
[173] Alfred Stille and John M. Maisch, The National Dispensatory, 2nd edition (Philadelphia, 1880), page 713; James Thacher, The American Dispensatory, 2nd edition (Boston, 1813), page 230; C. Lewis Diehl, “Report on the Progress of Pharmacy,” Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association, volume 25 (1876), page 205.
[174] W. H. Schieffelin & Co., General Prices Current (New York, 1887), page 39.
[175] Diehl, op. cit. [note 173]; John C. Hartnett, “The Care and Use of Medicinal Leeches in 19th Century Pharmacy and Therapeutics,” Pharmacy in History, volume 14 (1972), page 133.
[176] Broussais offered the following explanation for the effectiveness of leeching. Congestion of blood vessels in a healthy person gives rise to a sympathetic irritation in the mucous surfaces of bodily orifices. Equilibrium may be restored naturally by hemorrhage through the nose. Without this release of blood, congestion builds up into an inflammation. Local bloodletting relieves the congestion when applied on a portion of the skin corresponding to the inflamed organ. Broussais’s favorite remedy was the application of leeches to the stomach and head. For this purpose he ordered hundreds of leeches daily. See F.J.V. Broussais, A Treatise on Physiology Applied & Pathology, translated by John Bell and R. La Roche, 2nd American edition (Philadelphia, 1828), page 414, and Castiglioni, op. cit. [note 40], page 609.
[177] Thorndike, op. cit. [note 3], page 477. See also Karl-Otto Kuppe, Die Blutegel in der Aerztlichen Praxis (reprint, Stuttgart: Hippocrates-Verlag, 1955), pages 9-11.
[178] Hartnett, op. cit. [note 175], page 132.
[179] Jonathan Osborne, “Observations on Local Bloodletting, and on Some New Methods of Practicing It,” Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science, volume 3 (1833), pages 334-342.
[180] See, for example, Maison Charrière, Robert et Collin, op. cit. [note 149], page 42 and plate 9.
[181] John Berry Haycraft, “On the Coagulation of the Blood,” 9 pages, extracted from Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, volume 231 (1884).
[182] Thorndike, op. cit. [note 3], page 477. Merat, op. cit. [note 172], page 528, cited an extreme case in which a woman suffering from peritonitis was given a total of 250 leeches in 24 hours. She died soon after.
[183] Stille and Maisch, op. cit. [note 173], page 715; Thacher, op. cit. [note 173], page 231.
[184] Hartnett, op. cit. [note 175], page 132; J. K. Crellin, op. cit. [note 33], pages 127-134.
[185] Andrew H. Smith, “An Artificial Leech,” Medical Record, volume 4 (1869-70), page 406.
[186] In addition to the references below, articles on artificial leeches include Dr. Montain, “Considérations thérapeutiques sur l’emploi du pneumo-derme, nouvel instrument destiné à remplacer les sangsues et les ventouses,” Bulletin Général de thérapeutique, volume 11 (1836), pages 311-315; J. J. Tweed, “A Description of the Apparatus for Employing the Mechanical Leeches,” Medical Times, volume 21 (1850), pages 36-37; and Samuel Theobald, “An Improved Method of Applying the Artificial Leech,” American Journal of Medical Science, new series, volume 70 (1875), pages 139-142.
[187] Sarlandière, “Ventouse,” Dictionnaire des sciences médicales, volume 57 (Paris, 1821), pages 174-178; Paulet, “Bdellometre,” Dictionnaire encyclopédique des sciences médicales, series 1, volume 8 (Paris, 1868), pages 632-633; L. Gresely, “Dissertation sur les sangsues, le nouveau scarificateur, et sur leur emploi en médecine” (Paris: Faculty of Medicine, 1820), dissertation no. 202.
[188] Robley Dunglison, Medical Lexicon: A New Dictionary of Medical Science, 3rd edition (Philadelphia, 1842). The bdellometer was listed in later editions of this dictionary throughout the nineteenth century.
[189] Damoiseau, La terabdelle ou machine pneumatique operant a volonté la saignée locale et la revulsion aux principales regions du corps humains (Paris, 1862), 60 pages. See also Gaujot and Spillman, op. cit. [note 49], pages 194-195.
[190] L. Wecker, “De la sangsue artificielle (modéle du baron Heurteloup), et de son emploi dans le traitment des maladies des yeux.” Bulletin général de thérapeutique médicale et chirurgicale, volume 62 (1862), pages 107-116. For price information, see Caswell, Hazard & Co. (W. F. Ford), Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and Appliances (New York, 1874), page 18. An example of Heurteloup’s leech as well as a larger, modified Heurteloup’s leech can be found in the collection of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
[191] Smith, op. cit. [note 185], page 406; Tiemann, op. cit. [note 144], page 116; Patent specifications, U.S. patent 100210. An example of this artificial leech can be found in the collection of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
[192] Tiemann, op. cit. [note 144], page 506.
[193] William Reese, “Uterine Leech and Aspirator,” Medical Record, volume 11 (1876), page 596.
[194] Otto Raubenheimer, “Leeches—How to Dispense Them,” Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, volume 12 (1923), page 339. Thorndike, op. cit. [note 3], page 477, notes that in 1927, leeches still could be had in Boston for 75¢ apiece. In Cleveland they were still obtainable in the 1950s.
[195] Dictionnaire usuel de chirurgie et de médicine vetérinaire, 2 volumes (Paris, 1835-36), articles “Ventouses” and “Sangsues.”
[196] Ibid., article “Saignée.”
[197] Encyclopédie méthodique: Médecine, volume 9 (Paris, 1816), page 478.
[198] Dictionnaire usuel, op. cit. [note 195], volume 2, page 605.
[199] Weiss, op. cit. [note 118], page 100, plate 27.
[200] Patent specifications, U.S. patent 6240.
[201] Patent specifications, U.S. patent 236084.
Aloe, A. S. Company. Illustrated and Priced Catalogue of Surgical Instruments, Physicians’ Supplies and Hospital Furnishings. 6th edition. St. Louis, 1891.
——. Catalogue of Superior Surgical Instruments and Physicians’ and Surgeons’ Supplies. 6th Edition. St. Louis, 1895.
Becton, Dickinson & Co. Trade Catalogue of Gold, Silver and Plated Instruments for Surgeons and Veterinarians. New York, 1904.
——. [Catalogue.] Rutherford, N.J., 1911.
——. Illustrated Catalog of Druggists, Surgical, and Veterinary Specialties. Rutherford, N.J., 1917.
Caswell, Hazard & Co., W. F. Ford. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and Appliances. New York, 1874.
Ch. Dubois. Catalogue illustre des instruments de chirurgie. Paris, 1884.
Charles Lentz & Sons. Illustrated Catalogue and Price List of Surgical Instruments. 3rd edition. Philadelphia, ca. 1888.
Charles Henry Truax. The Mechanics of Surgery, Comprising Detailed Descriptions, Illustrations and List of the Instruments, Appliances and Furniture Necessary in Modern Surgical Arts. Chicago, 1899.
Codman and Shurtleff. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and Appliances. Boston, 1879.
——. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and Appliances. Boston, 1886.
——. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and Appliances. Boston, 1890.
Coxeter, J., & Son. Surgical Instruments Catalogue. London, 1870.
Down Bros. Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and Appliances. London, 1885.
Dubois, Ch. See Ch. Dubois.
Durbin, J., Surgical Supply Co. (Catalogue.) Denver, 1929.
Feick Bros. Illustrated Catalogue and Price List of Surgical Instruments. Pittsburgh, 1896.
Fred Haslam & Co. Standard Surgical Instruments. Brooklyn, 1922.
Fr. Lindstaedt. Illustrirter Catalog chirurgischer Instrumente. Bremen, 1882.
George Tiemann & Co. American Armamentarium Chirurgicum. New York, 1879.
——. The American Armamentarium Chirurgicum. New York, 1882.
——. The American Armamentarium Chirurgicum. New York, 1889.
Haslam & Co. See Fred Haslam & Co.
John Reynders & Co. Illustrated Catalogue and Price List of Surgical Instruments, Orthopaedical Apparatus, Trusses, etc. 5th edition. New York, 1884.
John Weiss. An Account of Inventions and Improvements Made by John Weiss. 2nd edition. London, 1831.
John Weiss & Son. Weiss and Son’s Catalogue of Surgical Instruments for 1836. London, 1836.
——. A Catalogue of Opthalmic Instruments and Appliances, etc. London, 1863.
——. A Catalogue of Opthalmic Instruments and Appliances. Manchester, 1898.
Kennedy, J. E., & Co. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments and of Allied Lines. New York, 1917.
Kny-Scheerer Co., The. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments. 3 volumes. New York, 1899.
——. Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments. 16th edition. New York, no date (20th century).
Krohne & Sesemann. Catalogue of Surgical & Orthopedic Instruments. London, 1878.
Lentz & Sons. See Charles Lentz & Sons.
Lindstaedt, Fr. See Fr. Lindstaedt.
Maison Charrière, Robert et Collin, Successeurs. [Catalogue.] Paris, 1867.
——. Catalogue générale illustre. Paris, 1879.
——. Catalogue générale illustre. Paris, 1885.
——. Catalogue générale illustre. Paris, 1890.
——. Catalogue générale illustre. Paris, 1894.
Maison Luër (H. Wulfing-Luër). Catalogue générale Illustre. Paris, ca. 1904.
Mathay Hospital Supply Co. Surgical Instruments. Los Angeles, ca. 1937.
Maison Mathieu. Arsenal Chirurgical. 15th edition. Paris, ca. 1905.
Matthews Bros. A Catalogue of Surgical Instruments. London, ca. 1875.
Maw, S., Son & Thompson’s. Surgical Instruments, etc. London, 1882.
Obstetrical Society of London. Catalogue and Report of Obstetrical and Other Instruments Exhibited at the Converzatione of the Obstetrical Society of London, 1867.
Pittsburgh Physicians’ Supply Co. Illustrated Catalogue. Pittsburgh, 1908.
Reiner, H. Catalog medicinisch-chirurgischer Instrumente und Apparate. Vienna, 1885.
Reynders, John, & Co. See John Reynders & Co.
Robert et Collin. See Maison Charrière.
Scheffelin, W. H., & Co. General Prices Current. New York, 1887.
Sharp and Smith. Surgical Instruments. 16th edition. Chicago, ca. 1892.
Shepard & Dudley. Descriptive Catalogue. New York, 1873.
Tiemann, George, & Co. See George Tiemann & Co.
Truax, Charles Henry. See Charles Henry Truax.
Truax, Green & Co. Price List of Physicians Supplies. 6th edition. Chicago, 1893.
Weiss & Son. See John Weiss & Son.
W. H. Wigmore. Surgical, Dental and Veterinary Instruments. Philadelphia, no date (pre-1895).
W. Windler. Preis-Verzeichniss der Fabrik chirurgischer Instrumente und Bandagen. Berlin, 1888.
Figure 26.—Reproduction of a Greek vase showing a 5th century B.C. medical “clinic.” Original is in the Louvre. Patient is about to undergo venesection in the arm. Bronze bleeding bowl catches the blood. (NMHT 233055 [M-9618]; SI photo 73-4216.)
Figure 27.—Bloodletting man from a New York almanac, 1710. (From Daniel Leeds, The American Almanack for the Year of Christian Account, 1710. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
Figure 28.—Phlebotomy manikin in Johannes de Ketham Fascicules Medicinae. Venice, 1495. (From the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, NMHT.)
Figure 29.—Lionel Wepfer, a 17th century traveler, described the Indian method of bloodletting as follows: “The patient is seated on a stone in the river, and one with a small bow shoots little arrows into the naked body of the patient, up and down, shooting them as fast as he can and not missing any part. But the arrows are guarded, so that they penetrate no farther than we commonly thrust our lancets; and if by chance they hit a vein which is full of wind, and the blood spurts out a little, they will leap and skip about, shewing many antic gestures, by way of rejoicing and triumph.” (From Lionel Wepfer, A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America, London, 1699. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 30.—Flint lancets used by native doctors in
Alaska, 1880s.
(Anthropology Catalog 127758; SI photo 73-4208).
Figure 31.—Instruments and technique of phlebotomy: Fig. 1 shows an arm about to be bled. A ligature has been applied to make the veins swell. The common veins bled—cephalic, basilic, and median—are illustrated. Fig. 2 shows several types of incisions. Fig. 3 is a fleam, Fig. 4 a spring lancet, and Fig. 5 a “French lancet.” (From Laurence Heister, A General System of Surgery, London, 1759. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 32.—Replica of a barber-surgeon’s signboard dated 1623. Top left corner shows a phlebotomy being performed. (NMHT 215690 [M-7343]; SI photo 44681.)
Figure 33.—Instruments for bleeding from the arm, 1708: A, a serviette to cover the patient’s clothing; B, a cloth ligature to place around the arm; C, a lancet case; D, a lancet; E and F, candles to give light for the operation; G, a baton or staff for the patient to hold; H, I, and K, basins for collecting blood; L and M, compresses; N, a bandage to be placed over the compress; P, eau de la Reine d’Hongrie that can be used instead of vinegar to revive the patient if he faints; Q, a glass of urine and water for the patient to drink when he revives; R, S, T, implements for washing the hands and the lancets after the operation. (From Pierre Dionis, Cours d’opérations de chirurgie demontrées au Jardin Royal, Paris, 1708. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 34.—Two 18th century trade cards advertising lancets. (Photo courtesy of Wellcome Institute, London.)
Figure 35.—Lithograph, London, 1804, showing a phlebotomy. (On loan from Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; SI photo 42579.)
Figure 36.—18th-century cutler’s illustrations for making lancets. Note the variations in the shape of the lancet blades. (From Jean Jacques Perret, L’Art du Coutelier, Paris, 1772. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 37.—Thumb lancet, 16th century. (From Leonardo Botallo, De Curatione per Sanguinis Missionem, Antwerp, 1583. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 38.—Typical 19th-century thumb lancets, engraved “S. Maw, London.” (NMHT 139980 [M-4151]; SI photo 73-4230.)
Figure 39.—Typical 19th-century brass spring lancet and case. The case is stamped “Traunichtessticht,” which translates, “Watch out, it stabs.” (NMHT 308730.10; SI photo 74-4088.)
Figure 40.—Spring lancets, dated 1775. (Held by Rhode Island Medical Society; SI photo 73-5762.)
Figure 41.—Fleam, 16th century. (From Leonardo Botallo, De Curatione per Sanguinis Missionem, Antwerp, 1583. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 42.(top)—Hand-forged fleam with hand-carved wooden case, 17th and 18th century, Swiss or Tyrolean. (NMHT 233570 [M-9666]; SI photo 59139-E.)
Figure 43.(bottom)—Fleam made by E. Dalman, London. Note unusual curved shape to blade. (From the original in the Wellcome Museum by courtesy of the Trustees, photo L. 1346.)
Figure 44.—Silver spring lancet in case. Case is lined with white silk and rose plush and has a gold leaf border. (NMHT 321687.02; SI photo 76-7752.)
Figure 45.—Unusual spring lancet with extra blade, engraved “M.A. Prizzi,” 18th century. (NMHT 320033.06; SI photo 76-7763.)
Figure 46.—Unusual spring lancet in hand-carved wooden case, 18th century. Note the large blade and blade guard regulated by a screw. (NMHT 321.697.12; SI photo 76-9114.)
Figure 47.—George Tiemann & Co.’s spring lancet, late 19th century. (NMHT 163863 [M-5141]; SI photo 73-5644.)
Figure 48.—Patent model spring lancet, patented by J.W.W. Gordon in 1857. Back view. (NMHT 89797 [M-4298]; SI photo 73-10319.)
Figure 49.—Patent model spring lancet, patented by J.W.W. Gordon in 1857. Front view. (NMHT 89797 [M-4298]; SI photo 73-10318.)
Figure 50.—Wet cupping for a headache. (From Frederik Dekkers, Exercitationes Practicae Circa Medendi Methodum, Leyden, 1694. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 51.—Dry cupping for sciatica. (From Frederik Dekkers, Exercitationes Practicae Circa Medendi Methodum, Leyden, 1694. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 52.—Horn cups used in Egypt in the 16th century. (From Prosper Alphinus, Medicina Aegyptorum, Leyden, 1719. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 53.—Horn cup used in the Niger Republic of West Africa in the 1960s. (NMHT 270023 [M-11998]; SI photo 73-5643.)
Figure 54.—Replica of a Greek votive tablet found in the remains of the Temple of Aesculapius. Pictured are two metal cups and a set of scalpels. (NMHT 233055 [M-9617]; SI photo 73-4217.)
Figure 55.—Egyptian spouted cupping cups, 16th century. (From Prosper Alpinus, Medicina Aegyptorum, Leyden, 1719. Photo courtesy of NLM.)
Figure 56.—Cupping instruments illustrated by Dionis, 1708: A, cups made of horn; B, lamp for exhausting air; C, fleam for making scarifications; D, horns with holes at the tip for mouth suction; E, balls of wax to close the holes in the horn cups; F, G, glass cups; H, candle to light the tow or the small candles; I, tow; K, small candles on a card which is placed over the scarifications and lit in order to exhaust the cup; L, lancet for making scarifications; M, scarifications; N, plaster to place on the wound. (From Pierre Dionis, Cours d’opérations de chirurgie demontrées au Jardin Royal, Paris, 1708. Photo courtesy of NLM.)