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What were some of the more gruesome medical practices of the middle ages?

Fronie Wickins

During the Middle Ages, medical practices were often gruesome and sometimes even barbaric. Many of the procedures that were performed in this era are shocking to our modern sensibilities. Let's explore some of the more gruesome medical practices of the Middle Ages together.

One of the most common medical practices during the Middle Ages was bloodletting. This ancient technique involved making small incisions in a patient's body and allowing them to bleed out, with the belief that this would stabilize their humors and restore their health. Bloodletting was used to treat everything from headaches to fever to general malaise. While it was believed to be a cure-all, it often led to the opposite effect, causing patients to become physically weak due to excessive blood loss.

Another gruesome medical practice was trepanning. This experience entailed puncturing a hole in the skull, aiming to treat everything from headaches to epilepsy. The logic behind it was to release bad spirits that were thought to cause the disease. While there is evidence of this practice being performed in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago, it was commonplace throughout the Middle Ages and remained in use until the 17th century.

Amputation was another shocking medical practice during the Middle Ages. Infections were treated by chopping off the affected limb. This procedure was often performed without the assistance of anesthetics, and the suffering of the patient was apparent. The success rate of the surgery was low, with many patients succumbing to shock or postoperative infections.

Leeches were also used in medical treatments, as it was believed that they could purify the blood. Doctors also administered large doses of opium to help alleviate pain—a dangerous and addictive practice that led to many painful and prolonged addictions.

The medical practices of the Middle Ages may seem barbaric and shocking to us now. However, it's important to remember that at the time, these methods were considered advanced. The practices that were implemented in this era did provide some benefits or relief in some cases and demonstrated the best of what was available at that time.

It is interesting to consider how medicine has progressed since this era and how modern medicine may be viewed in the future. What we see as advanced methods of treatment are still in their infancy, and sometime our present-day cures may be listed alongside those of the Middle Ages.

Asking ourselves questions about the boundaries of medicine and the ethics surrounding it can aid us in keeping a critical eye on the advancing treatments and methods. Our assessment of some past medical practices could give context and a moral framework to the things we use and apply to medicine today.