Origins
How many years ago did the practice of Egyptian bloodletting begin?
Lowering blood volume decreases ____ levels. Many harmful microbes rely on ____ to grow and multiply; mild blood loss could have let the body starve out early-stage infections.
Iron
What modern practice evolved from the historical form of bloodletting despite its many disadvantages?
Modern phlebotomy
What is the process of making small incisions or scratches in the skin called
Scarification
Much of the equipment used to do this process was done without sterilisation, thus contamination from unhygienic leeches introduced _____.
infection
Name either condition that involves excess iron in the body or too many red blood cells?
Hemochromatosis
Polycythemia vera
Which animal did Pliny's fable credits the Egyptians with learning from and what did they observe?
Pliny's fable credits the Egyptians with learning to open a vein from watching the clumsy hippopotamus wound itself against sharp, pointed reeds until they bled. Apparently, after letting out the "distress", the hippo would casually saunter into the water to stop the bleeding and recovered through this method.
What is the psychological comfort of receiving a provocative treatment that is “deemed to work” which makes patients feel temporarily better?
Placebo Effect
Which Mesopotamian cultures also practiced early forms of blood removal?
Babylonians or Sumerians (Either answer)
Being ill meant having an imbalance of the four humors thus treatment involved removing excessive humor by bloodletting. What are the four humors?
blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile
What is a life-threatening medical emergency caused by severe blood loss from bloodletting? H_________ S____
Hemorrhagic Shock
What natural bodily process may have influenced early interpretations of blood loss?
Menstruation