title: The demise of bloodletting.
abstract: Bloodletting was a practice favoured by doctors and barber-surgeons for many centuries, and is now, perhaps surprisingly, still employed for a few specific indications. The effectiveness of bloodletting for treating diseases such as pneumonia was convincingly challenged in the mid-nineteenth century, but medical conservatism ensured the practice continued well into the twentieth century. As late as 1942, a famous medical textbook considered bloodletting appropriate treatment for pneumonia.
authors.affiliation: DP Thomas The Old Barn North Green Kirtlington Oxford OX5 3JZ, UK e-mail duncanthomas@btinternet.com.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D001815:Bloodletting / Q000266:history* / Q000295:instrumentation; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D024763:Leeching / Q000266:history; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000266:history* / Q000628:therapy
keywords: Bloodletting; lancets; leeches; pneumonia; transfusion