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MTH Cont.
Scarificator Cont.
Some of you may remember the 1978 SNL skit with Steve Martin as, ―Theodoric of York‖ the barber who would give you a haircut, and if you were not feeling well, would also give you a good bloodletting. In the scene, he does not use a scarificator. However, by looking at where he pretended to
strike Dan Aykroyd, possibly the medial cubital vein or cephalic vein, he could have been pretending
to use an older lancet style device also used for bloodletting. My father was a barber, and we had
the red and white rotating barber pole in front. This pole symbolizes the practice; the red symbolizing
blood and the white symbolizing the tourniquet. Just in case any of you are thinking it, no, we did not
blood let patients. I’m not that old.
The first president of the United States, George Washington, died after being relieved of nine
pints of blood within a 24 hour period with a scarificator. If we round down to a ratio of 2 pints to a
liter, George Washington had 4 ½ liters of blood removed. The average adult male can have 5-6 liters of blood, (CBET exam type question), so he lost more than half his whole blood volume. Today,
in the U.S, an individual can donate 1 pint of whole blood every 8 weeks. This varies from country to
country.
Since this device was mechanical, maintenance would have required frequent cleaning, and possibly oiling of the mechanism. Florence Nightingale (1820 -1910) lived during the late stages of the
use of scarificator. So if you were somehow assigned to maintain these devices, I’d guess she would
have had you disinfect them by the means used during her time as a nurse which was running the
blades against moldy bread. Can you guess why? Hope you enjoyed this narrative on the scarificator.
References:
1. "Antique Bloodletting and Leeching Instruments." Medical Antiques: Collecting Surgical and
Bloodletting Items. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. .
2. "Donating Whole Blood | Volunteer Donate Blood Eugene Springfield Lane County Oregon."
Lane Blood Center in Eugene Oregon | Donate Blood in Eugene Springfield Oregon. Web. 11
Dec. 2011. .
3. Ford, Graham. "Phlebotomy: The Ancient Art of Bloodletting" - MuseumofQuackery.com." Bob
McCoy: Founder of the The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices: Museumofquackery.com.
Web. 11 Dec. 2011. .