TMS
MTH
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MTH Cont.
Scarificator Cont.
If you came across a scarificator, the material most like used would have been brass. These devices existed in practice from the 1700’s to the 1900s. The heavy use of leeches may have been a
reason for their discontinuation, since bloodletting continued after their use in practice.
These devices came in a kit with blood collecting jars, along with suction devices used to empty
the jars. It was thought that the body consisted of four humors only one those being blood. They
were 1) blood, 2) black bile, 3) yellow bile and 4) phlegm. This belief dated back to ancient Greece
and Rome. Bloodletting, vomiting, starving, purging was all used to bring balance back to patient’s
humors.
Photo by Kansas Historical Society