Name/Title
ScarificatorEntry/Object ID
0139Description
Instrument used for bleeding; 2 pieced - scarificator and black case
The scarficator which employed twelve, spring-loaded rotary blades to puncture the skin, was a bloodletting instrument used in the ancient practice of phlebotomy to balance the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile). The blood would be collected in a shallow bowl with the practice continuing up until the early 19th century. Our first President, General George Washington is believed to have died from excessive bloodletting to cure a soar throat (quinsy).
