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Posted 8 years ago
leonleroy
(1 item)
Small brass tool, about 1 1/2 inches. Appears to have a blade on one end. There is a springed clip on the top. The back slides open to reveal a spring mechanism inside.
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Okay good one... ...
Hum well Welcome to CW anyhow leonleroy someone will know.
I'm pretty sure what i found on the web is what your showing it's very close or is the same. here is the web site.
http://antique-scientific-instruments.com/bloodlettingphlebotomy-toolsobo-c-8/antique-blood-letting-scarificator-bleeding-tool-boxed-p-12.html
Antique Blood Letting Scarificator Bleeding Tool Boxed
$229.00
Offered for sale is an antique scarificator Blood Letting Bleeder original pre-civil war tool in a wood presentation box. The instrument is 4 1/4" x 2 3/4", and is used but in very good condition and is 100% authentic and is all original and very rare. We believe the instrument is circa late 1700's to early 1800's, and is made of brass.
Provenance: Phillips Auction
History:The practice of bloodletting, or phlebotomy, dates back to antiquity. The followers of Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. strongly believed in bleeding patients, and it is likely that this was done in Egyptian times and probably even before that. Early civilizations may have been inspired by seeing bats remove blood from animals, hippos scratching on trees until they bled, and other animals scratching at diseased body parts for relief. Additionally, there were many human examples of bleeding such as spontaneous nosebleeds and menstruation that had to be explained. It is perhaps these signs in nature that led early civilizations to put it all together: bleeding must have some beneficial value!
From these simple observations came increasingly complex theories as to why bloodletting was necessary and how it worked. An early theory was that there were four main bodily humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. An imbalance in these humors was postulated as the need for bloodletting, purging, vomiting, etc. Virtually every known medical condition at one time or another was treated by these methods. Bloodletting was used to treat everything from fever and madness to anemia and debility. As one can imagine, treating an anemic patient by removing even more blood was not the best of ideas.
Through the Middle Ages and into the 18th and 19th century there were many strides in medical knowledge with regards to disease states, and anatomy. However, there was not much that could be done in terms of treatment. There were no antibiotics and surgery was in its infancy (in large part due to the lack of quality anesthesia). One of the only therapeutic modalities was to get out the old lancet and let some blood. It can safely be said that this almost never benefited the patient. Perhaps the biggest benefit was to the physician and family, who felt that at least they were doing something, and if the patient died anyway, it was meant to be.
Phlebotomy was carried out, both on humans and animals. Most of these items are from the 18th and 19th centuries.
It's a spring-loaded fleam, mostly used in veterinary medicine until the mid 1900s. Also used in human medicine until the mid 1800s. By bleeding the patient, it was thought to prevent or cure many diseases. Or, as usual, people are demented and just want to cause unnecessary suffering and death to others. Or it would work great for what I used to do to myself, but that's a different story.
Anyway, be careful. Some pathogens go dormant for centuries. AKA, don't cut yourself with it.
I think its a flean,or fleen, for bloodletting, very 19th cent.
Sure that figures, well done