When did bloodletting therapy originate? What are the characteristics of this therapy?

Blood vessels are like rivers on the earth, through which civilization and medicine were born. Around 3500 BC, these "great" river civilizations bled at the same time. The sacred words of ancient Egyptian doctors refer to shooting people with arrows and bleeding to cure diseases. In Mesopotamia, people believed that bloodletting could drive away demons. Indian medicine believes that human health is maintained by the balance of air, bile and sputum, and the imbalance between them will lead to blood disorder, so bloodletting is considered as an effective method.

Besides bleeding with sharp weapons, Indians also inherited leeches from Egypt and Shuria. Bloodletting spread from the Nile and Tigris rivers to ancient Greece and Rome, which became a fashion. Hippocrates is the most famous name, which can be traced back to the father of modern western medicine. He believes that the disease is not a local phenomenon, but an imbalance of blood, mucus, black bile and yellow bile. Bleeding, purification and diet adjustment are helpful to the natural recovery of the human body. The father of western medicine also became the father of bloodletting therapy.

The popularity of bloodletting in the west is also related to another great medical scientist, Galen, whose achievements in anatomy, physiology and therapeutics were unparalleled before16th century. Galen is a supporter of bloodletting. In therapy and other books, he clearly pointed out that bloodletting can be used for almost any disease, including bleeding and weakness. Bloodletting therapy is not only the first choice for treating gout, arthritis, dizziness, epilepsy, depression, eye diseases and other serious diseases, but also the main means of disease prevention. Galen is very keen on bloodletting. In some cases, he suggested bleeding twice a day. Barbers have developed a complete bloodletting program and tools.

The double-edged knife used for bloodletting treatment is called "The Lancet". The Lancet, a famous British medical journal, originated from a double-edged blade used for bloodletting. Among the red, blue and white stripes used in barbershops, red represents flowing arterial blood, blue represents flowing venous blood, and white represents hemostatic bandages, which is a vivid advertisement for bloodletting therapy.