Name/Title
scarificator setEntry/Object ID
L2025.002.001Description
Bleeder, bloodletting fleam set, in red leather decorative case with brass closure. Original ID number 60.72 IH from the Maryland State Medical Society.Context
The scarificator was first used in the early 1700s as part of the common practice of bleeding patients to relieve them of an excess of bad “blood humours.” By pulling a release lever, the doctor could shoot out multiple small blades at once, creating a series of parallel cuts. Twelve blades were the most common, but they could contain 6-20. This octagonal shape seen here was favored by the English and Americans starting in the 1790s. On loan from the Carroll County Farm Museum.Exhibition
Main Street at Work: Merchants and Medicine in Carroll County