Spring Lancet Blade

This blade is a component of a larger spring lancet commonly used in veterinary bloodletting in the 18th and 19th century. In an era when many ailments were believed to result from an imbalance of blood, or plethora, physicians turned to bloodletting as a cure all. Physicians believed that draining a precise amount of blood could restore health and alleviate a wide range of conditions. Veterinarians applied humoral theory to animals the same as it was applied to humans. These animals could included horses, cows, sheep, pigs, dogs, and cats.
Veterinary lancets are often confused with those designed for humans. Due to the toughness of animal skin, veterinarians needed to apply considerably more pressure to make an incision. Therefore, veterinary spring lancets are considerably larger than those made for humans. This lancet is encased in brass with a mechanical action allowing veterinarians to perform bloodletting with greater ease than other instruments which required direct manual pressure.
Inscribed “ FISCHER”, it is likely that this blade was produced by the Fischer family of craftsmen from Vienna, Austria. The blade possesses a trademark tapering associated with the Fischer family. However, it is unclear which of the Fischer craftsmen in particular made it. Because of the blade’s association with another spring lancet within the collection, the maker was likely Peter Fischer or a mysterious M. Fischer (1818-1860).

Broman, Thomas. “Rethinking Professionalization: Theory, Practice, and Professional Ideology in Eighteenth-Century German Medicine.” The Journal of Modern History 67, no. 4 (1995): 835–72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2124757.
e-science-be hind-medical-bloodletting.

Davis, Audrey and Toby Appel. Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979.

Fort, Gosia. “Treasures from the Rare Book Room: The Super Brief History of Bloodletting.” University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System, 2020. https://info.hsls.pitt.edu /updatereport/2020/september-2020/treasures-from-the-rare-book-room-the-sup er-brief-history-of-bloodletting/.

Kuriyama, Shigehisa. “Interpreting the History of Bloodletting.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 50, no. 1 (1995): 11–46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24623553.

Matthias, M. "What Was the Science Behind Medical Bloodletting?." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 22, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/story/what-was-the-science-be hind-medical-bloodletting.
Osborn, Catherine. “The Spring-Lancet, A ‘Bloodstain’d Faithful Friend!’” Dittrick Medical History Center, 2017. https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/2014/07/24/the-spring-lancet-a- bloodstaind-faithful-friend/#:~:text=To%20use%20the%20lancet%2C%20the,into%20 the%20patient%20%5B3%5D.

McKay, HIll, & Buckler, History of Western Society, p.