Scarificator

Bloodletting was the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient in the belief that it cured or prevented a great many illnesses and diseases. It was a popular medical practice from antiquity up to the late 19th century. The practice has been abandoned for all except a few very specific conditions.

The scarificator is a spring loaded instrument that has a series of blades that snap out to cut the skin to allow for bloodletting. The bleeding bowl, as the name implies, is a bowl used to collect blood. The Medical Heritage Center’s bleeding bowl has lines etched into the inside that correspond to different prescriptions.