WTF? Scary Medical Tools

Neatorama is a great site that sometimes come up with things that seriously mess with my mind. No more so than this set of old surgical instruments that look like they would be more at home in a dungeon than a hospital's waiting room. If I saw one of these in my doctor's hands I would tell him not to worry about it and just let me die. Gonna have nightmares I just know it. Here are two of the most terrifying ones. Use the link to get to the entire story and see all the examples.

Arrow Remover (1500s)
Not much is known about this tool, but it is hypothesized that it was inserted into the wound in a contracted position, with the central shaft used to grasp the arrow. The blades, which appear to have their sharp edges facing outward, were then expanded using the scissor-like handles, thus expanding the flesh around the arrow to prevent the arrowhead from ripping through the meat as it was pulled out.



Artificial Leech (1800s)
Bloodletting with leeches was such a popular treatment for a range of medical conditions that an artificial leech was invented in 1840 and was used frequently in eye and ear surgery. The rotating blades would cut a wound in the patient's skin, while the cylinder would be used to produce a vacuum that sucked up the blood.


http://www.surgicaltechnologists.net/blog/20-scary-old-school-surgical-tools