Bleeding Cups

Definition: In the Greek and Roman section of the British Museum I saw many instruments of daily life, including a bronze bleeding cup. I saw a similar item carved into the marble tombstone of a second century A.D. Athenian physician. In the first century A.D., the physician Celsus described the use of such vessels. A burning lint was placed inside the cup which was then inverted over an incision on the patient's skin. A vacuum was thereby created and as a result of it, blood flowed into the cup. The purpose of the bloodletting was to get rid of an imbalance in the humors. Bloodletting has continued into modern times. See Four Humors