Strange Medicine pg. 1
Bloodletting
Bloodletting
Civil War Medicine
What's Old is New
100
During the 1700's doctors had no knowledge of
microscopic organisms that caused diseases.
100
The red stripe represents the blood that was drawn, the white strip represents tourniquet that was used and the pole represents
the stick the patient squeezes to dilate or expand the veins.
100
George Washington was a great believer of this practice
Bloodletting
100
Stacks of amputated limbs sometimes piled up to
5 feet
100
These are two old remedies
leeches and maggots
200
To explain diseases, doctors relied on
medical theories.
200
The red and white stripe pole we wee in barber shops today is a
symbol of the bloodletting practice of the 1700's-1800's
200
Bloodletting was exposed as a risky and undesirable practice by this year
1900
200
This was used as an anesthetic to reduce the trauma of amputations
chloroform
200
Leeches and maggots were used to treat
headaches, ear infections, and hemorrhoids.
300
Name 3 of the most popular treatment methods of the 1700's..
bloodletting, blistering, and purging.
300
Often doctors prescribed bloodletting but barber surgeons usually
performed the procedure.
300
What killed George Washington?
Bloodletting practice
300
The most painful scene to observe on the battle field was the
surgeon's camp.
300
Maggots helped
cleanse wounds and keep them free of infection
400
This remedy was used to treat respiratory illness
blistering also known as cupping.
400
Bloodletting involved
drawing large quantities of "bad blood" so new healthy blood could fill up the body.
400
After suffering from a severe throat infection, doctors removed
8 pints of blood from George Washington's body,
400
This became the treatment of choice for injuries to a leg or an arm
amputation
400
Maggots were replaced by
antibiotics
500
The average life expectancy in the 1700's was
35 years. Explain why?
500
Bloodletting was thought to cure
everything from high blood pressure, to fevers, to disease.
500
This skilled technician draws blood from people in modern times
phlebotomist
500
When chloroform was not available, soldiers would do these two things to tolerate the pain:
drink whiskey or bite on a bullet
500
The use of living animals to treat illnesses is called
biotherapy
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