Name/Title
Fleam, multiple, foldingEntry/Object ID
2020.9.1Description
The fleam was usually a small blade sometimes attached to a wooden or ivory handle used in the ancient bloodletting practice of phlebotomy to balance the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile). A “fleam stick” was sometimes used to impact the blade into a vein of large animals by veterinarians. The fleam was a very popular bloodletting instrument during the 18th and early 19th centuries.