Medicine isn’t for the faint-hearted. Anyone who has ever performed a basic dissection knows that. But what fewer realize is the extent of the daunting (and gross) journey that science has taken to achieve the standards of medicine seen today. With the start of October and Halloween fast approaching, now is the perfect time to examine some of history’s grossest treatments and medicines and -hopefully- become more grateful for modern medicine in the process.
One of the oldest established medical practices is trepanation; the drilling of holes into the skull to relieve stress. Trepanation dates back as far as 7000 B.C. and historians debate whether the primary purpose was medicine or religious rituals. Some theories suggest the holes were drilled to release evil spirits out of the head, while others claim they were an attempt to cure epilepsy, blood clots, and headaches. Whatever the reason, the idea of drilling holes into a patient’s head using prehistoric tools is undoubtedly disturbing.
During the Greek and Medieval Ages there were an abundance of weird medical practices. Arguably the most notorious is the digestion of mummified bodies in the form of “mummy powder” or “mummia.” Interestingly enough, the treatment is actually based entirely on a translation error: Persian mineral “mumiya” had a similar appearance as an Egyptian mummifying mineral, and the similarity was misinterpreted by Latin translators to mean whole mummies ground into a powder. The powder allegedly worked as a cure for many different ailments, but modern science would most likely classify it as a placebo. Even after its effects had been debunked during the Renaissance, mummia continued to rake in a fortune as the bodies were used for paint mixtures and printing ink. British painter Arthur Church quipped: “A London colourman informs me that one Egyptian mummy furnishes sufficient material to satisfy the demands of his customers for twenty years.”
Unfortunately, the concept of cannibalistic medicine did not end with mummia. In 17th Century England, it was believed that ingesting a part of the dead meant ingesting part of their spirit and would increase the living person’s vitality. King Charles II drank a mixture of crumbled human skull and alcohol titled “”King’s Drops” to achieve higher quality of life. These practices were not just gruesome, but also unsanitary. In parts of Europe, the belief that remains of the dead could cure sickness drew the poor and ill to public executions where they hoped to collect cups of the criminal’s blood.
Medicine will never stop improving itself; becoming more accessible and more accurate every day. However, we can at least be grateful for the technology and knowledge that has been developed over time to prevent treatments such as skull holes, eating mummies, and drinking blood. As creepy as these “cures” are, they also serve as reminders of the benefits of modern medicine and the importance of consistent progress in the medical field.
References
Arthur H. Church (1901), The Chemistry of Paints and Painting, 236.
Article written by Anna Cernich
Article edited by Zain Qureshi
Graphics by London San Luis
Group advised by Aashima Sagar