In this hilarious episode of the Funny Medicine Podcast, we dive into the world of bloodletting, the creepiest cure of all time. From ancient Egypt to the Middle Ages, bloodletting was once believed to be a cure for practically everything. But what was it really all about? And why did people believe it worked?We explore the history of bloodletting, its scientific basis (or lack thereof), and some of the most outlandish bloodletting treatments of all time. They also discuss the surprising ways in which bloodletting is still used today.So if you're looking for a good laugh and a serious dose of medical history, this is the episode for you. Just be warned: some of the stories we tell are a little gross. But don't worry, we'll make sure you're laughing too hard to care.#bloodletting #creepymedicine #medicalhistory #medievalmedicine #alternativemedicine #weirdmedicine #funnymedicine #podcast #medicine #history #science #humorSources:Porter, Roy (1997). The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity from Antiquity to the Present. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 155. ISBN 978-0393046399.French, Roger (1999). Medicine Before Science: The Business of Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. Cambridge University Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0521007616.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (2020). "Bloodletting". National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Retrieved August 4, 2023.Skeptical Inquirer (2017). "Bloodletting". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved August 4, 2023.Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. "Phlebotomy". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved August 4, 2023.Mayo Clinic (2022). "Hemochromatosis". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved August 4, 2023.National Cancer Institute (2022). "Polycythemia Vera Treatment". National Cancer Institute. Retrieved August 4, 2023.Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BC), translated by James Henry Breasted, 1930, The University of Chicago Press.W. R. Dawson, The Healing Magicians of Ancient Egypt, Thames and Hudson, 1950.Heinrich von Staden, Herophilus: The Art of Medicine in Early Alexandria, Cambridge University Press, 1989.Galen, On the Natural Faculties, translated by Arthur John Brock, 1916, The Loeb Classical Library.Hippocrates, On the Sacred Disease, translated by G.E.R. Lloyd, 1983, Penguin Classics.Erasistratus, Fragment 15, Rose, Fragments of Presocratic Philosophers.Herophilus, Fragment 7, Rose, Fragments of Presocratic Philosophers.Galen, On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body, translated by Margaret Tallmadge May, 1968, Cornell University Press.Hippocrates, On Airs, Waters, and Places, translated by John Chadwick and W. N. Mann, 1996, Cambridge University Press.Roger French, Medicine Before Science: The Business of Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, Cambridge University Press, 1999.Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat tractate 32aBennett, John Hughes (1843). Treatise on Inflammation. Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons.Cook, Harold J. (2004). The Decline of Bloodletting: A Study in 19th-Century Ratiocinations. South Med J. 79 (4): 469–475.The British Medical Journal (1871). "Blood-Letting as a Remedy". 1: 234.Louis, Pierre Charles Alexandre (1836). Researches on the Effects of Blood-Letting in Some Diseases. Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon.Osler, William (1923). The Principles and Practice of Medicine. New York: D. Appleton."Hemochromatosis." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 22 March 2023. Web. 6 October 2023."Polycythemia Vera." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 18 March 2023. Web. 6 October 2023."Utilization of Phlebotomy in the United States." Journal of Infusion Nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010. Web. 6 October 2023.
