Detail from Gonzales Coques, 'Touch', before 1661.
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Blood-Letting

For many centuries, blood-letting was used as a medical treatment for a range of conditions, including fevers, inflammations, diseases and haemorrhages.

Four common methods were employed to draw blood from the body. Venesection, seen here, was a method of taking blood by cutting one of the larger external veins, and was the most frequently practised approach. Arteriotomy was used to draw blood from an artery, usually in the temples, but was quite a difficult and dangerous technique. Leeches were also used; they were attached to the skin to suck blood from the patient. The technique known as scarification involved cutting the surface of the skin and then drawing blood by using a syringe or applying cupping-glasses.

This painting, 'Touch', is one of a series of the 'Five Senses' by Coques.

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