Showcase J: Leeches, Cupping

1. Leech jar: an early 19th-century English type
(facsimile).
2. Two leech jars: Italy, c. 1850, clear and blue
glass.
3. Leech tube: c. 1880, made to allow a precise
application of a leech onto the desired
anatomical site (including lips, hemorrhoids,
etc.). It is used the same way presently in
microsurgery of implant and flaps (see in
formalin plastic jar).
4. Glass jar: for transporting leeches to the
patient, c. 1800.
5. Four cupping glasses: c. 1850.
6. Baunscheidt’s Lebenswecker: (German for
“life awakener”) c. 1850, made of lignum vitae
(a special hardwood) and 30 sharp needles to
puncture the skin for “wet cupping” by placing
the vacuum cup over the punctured skin.