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Essay on The Practice of Phlebotomy

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Phlebotomy, otherwise known as venipuncture, is the art of drawing blood from the human body. This skill has been practiced since the time before the birth of Christ, originating in early civilizations of the ancient Egyptians and Mayans approximately 3000 years ago. The understanding of how the human body works, including the substance that flows through each individual, has continuously been on the forefront of the mind of many researchers, as well as within the very culture of many communities. As a result, these explorers needed the use of various instruments; as a way to be able to chart, investigate, and cleanse the body of impurities or excess fluid. The art of phlebotomy was once viewed as horrific and repulsive, but it has become …show more content…

He believed that veins contained blood and arteries held air; fearing the possibility of transferring air to the veins as a result of venesection would ultimately be committing murder. Phlebotomy began as a dangerous method of treatment in an attempt to understand the human body and to help the sick. Physicians needed a way to get to the veins of their patients quickly, so several tools were fabricated over the centuries, ensuring a swift puncture; even some punctures with a measurable degree of incision. These tools consisted of lancets and scarifications, which opened the vein; then there were cupping cups and leeches, which allowed a more localized draw from the capillaries. Davis and Apel state, "in the eighteenth century, delicate mechanical spring lancets and scarifications were invented to replace the simpler thumg lancets and fleams." Lancets are surgical knives that bore the greatest amount of liquid; creating an opening approximately one-fifth of an inch. Spring-loaded lancets were the easiest to use because they made consistent cuts whose cuts varied depending on the skill of the physician. Scarificators were brass boxes with a lever on top that released a set of blades which snapped out of slits on the base; offering a consistent depth and length of an incision. Cupping cups were heated while placed on the patients skin. As the cup cooled on the skin, a vacuum type of energy

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