Many learned and reasonable people might believe that these ancient doctors were our modern-day equivalent of quacks. Additionally, the astrological sign the moon was transiting through on a particular date and time, 1 determined the best date to perform surgery and bloodletting (a practice that originated in ancient Egypt). They believed that the phases of the moon exerted a critical influence on human blood flow, particularly the full moon phase, and thus it was critical to know when it would occur. That is because since the days of ziggurat-building and sky-god worship in Mesopotamia up until the eighteenth century, physicians and surgeons also studied and practiced astrology. After you have stared blankly at them for a few moments, you may wonder if they have gone over the moon and not in a good way.Īnd yet that is exactly what physicians and surgeons of early antiquity and the barbers of medieval and Renaissance days advised their patients. They tell you that the date picked for your surgery needs to occur during a waning moon to control bleeding. Then they follow that unsettling news with something, well, a little strange sounding. Imagine your doctor telling you that you need surgery. Zodiac Man, Homo Signorum, from Guild Book of the Barber Surgeons, c 1486, BL MS Egerton, 2572, f.
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