These 7 antique medical devices will make you shudder

4. The Scarificator

The Scarificator was a bloodletting device that had a series of razor blades that could score the body to release blood.

No longer used in modern medicine, the Scarificator was essentially a brass block that would create a series of incisions on the desired part of the body. A user would retract the blades inside of the block to prepare them and place the device on a desired part of the body. A release button on top of the Scarificator would release the razor blades into the body.

Bloodletting is a controversial form of alternative medicine these days, but it was common medical practice before the 20th century. The process involves removing blood from the body to cure to prevent illnesses from occurring. In the 17th century, doctors believed it would treat acne, diabetes, stroke, plague and a host of other diseases and condition.

It was later determined that bloodletting was not an effective treatment for most diseases.

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