10 Horrible Ancient Medical Procedures

The history of medicine is as animated as humanity itself, and society owes at least half its life to the doctors, healers, and curious experimenters who—through faith, grit, and often grisly imagination—pursued relief and cure without tire or relent. From crude tools of bone to potions brewed in cauldrons of myth, ancient medicine tells a tale of relentless trial and terrifying error. What passed for treatment in the ancient world might make modern patients shudder, but these practices laid the shaky groundwork for the refined science we rely on today.

Here are 10 horrifying ancient medical practices that, while revolting, are as much a part of medical history as the Hippocratic Oath itself.

1. Trepanation – Drilling Holes into Skulls

One of the oldest known surgical procedures, trepanation involved drilling or scraping a hole into the human skull to treat various ailments—from migraines to seizures to “evil spirits.” Archaeologists have found trepanned skulls dating back over 7,000 years across Europe, South America, and Africa. Surprisingly, many patients survived the procedure, as indicated by bone regrowth around the holes.

Despite the crude tools—often flint or obsidian—some ancient cultures performed this surgery with remarkable skill. Nevertheless, the thought of undergoing skull surgery without anesthesia or germ theory is the stuff of nightmares.

2. Bloodletting – Balancing the Humors

For centuries, the human body was believed to be governed by four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. When illness struck, physicians often concluded that an imbalance of these fluids was to blame.

Enter bloodletting.

Using knives, leeches, or specially designed instruments, blood would be drained from the patient in an attempt to restore balance. Used widely by Greeks, Romans, and later European doctors, bloodletting was a go-to treatment for everything from acne to pneumonia.

This practice continued well into the 19th century, claiming countless lives before finally being abandoned for more scientific approaches.

3. Mummy Powder – The Ground-Up Dead Cure

In Renaissance Europe, a bizarre craze took over apothecaries and nobility alike: mumia—a medicinal substance made by grinding up Egyptian mummies into powder. The result was used as a treatment for everything from headaches to internal bleeding.

The justification? Ancient Egyptian bodies were believed to be steeped in mysterious preservatives, offering healing powers. Some even claimed ingesting mummified flesh could pass along the strength or wisdom of the deceased.

Not only was this grotesque, but it also fueled centuries of grave robbing and cultural desecration. Ironically, it also spread disease rather than curing it.

4. Tooth Worms – The Imaginary Culprits of Toothaches

Before the invention of the dental X-ray or even basic oral hygiene, many civilizations believed toothaches were caused by tooth worms—tiny, squirming parasites nestled in the gums.

This idea originated in ancient Mesopotamia and persisted well into the 18th century. To treat the worms, healers would apply heated tools, herbal tinctures, or even fumigation to the mouth, hoping to “smoke out” the culprit.

Some treatments were so extreme that they destroyed the tooth completely—ironically solving the pain by removing the source altogether.

5. Mercury Treatments – Poison as Panacea

Mercury, a liquid metal, was once hailed as a miracle cure. In ancient China, it was consumed by emperors seeking immortality, while in Europe, mercury ointments and pills were standard treatments for syphilis and skin conditions.

One of the most horrifying examples comes from the 15th to 19th centuries when syphilis sufferers were told to rub mercury on their skin or even inhale mercury vapor. The toxic metal did kill some bacteria—but it also led to severe neurological damage, organ failure, and a gruesome death.

The phrase “a night in the arms of Venus leads to a lifetime on Mercury” was a grim reminder of this fatal irony.

6. Animal Dung Remedies – Healing with Filth

Yes, ancient doctors didn’t shy away from the disgusting. Both Egyptian and Roman physicians believed animal dung—especially from crocodiles, donkeys, and dogs—had potent healing and contraceptive properties.

Dung was used in everything from wound dressings to enemas and even vaginal pessaries. The Egyptians, for example, mixed crocodile dung with fermented dough to create early contraceptives.

While some dung contains antibacterial properties (due to fermented compounds), the risks of infection and disease were astronomically higher than any possible benefit.

7. Surgical Hemorrhoid Removal – The Roman Way

In ancient Rome, if you had hemorrhoids, your doctor might treat them by burning them off with hot irons or slicing them off with a scalpel—without anesthesia.

Celsus, a Roman medical writer from the 1st century CE, described such procedures in detail. He recommended cauterizing the area post-excision to prevent regrowth.

While effective in the crudest sense, the process was brutally painful and often fatal due to infection or blood loss. Post-op care involved honey and vinegar, which may have helped, but only marginally.

8. Cannibal Cures – Drinking Human Blood

In addition to consuming mummies, some European medical traditions involved drinking fresh human blood—particularly that of executed criminals.

It was believed that blood carried the soul or “life force,” and drinking it could transfer strength or cure ailments like epilepsy. Public executions became not just spectacles but medicinal opportunities, with spectators sometimes scrambling to collect the flowing blood in cups.

This belief even extended into making tinctures and potions from human organs, bones, and fat—a macabre pharmacy built on desperation and superstition.

9. Electric Eel Shock Therapy – Pain vs. Pain

In ancient Rome and Greece, electric eels—also known as torpedo fish—were used to treat ailments like gout and migraines. Patients would place the creature on the affected area, hoping its electric shock would numb the pain or reset the body’s energies.

The logic was brutal but simple: fight pain with more pain.

This method of using electricity for healing persisted into the modern era with the advent of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), though today’s practices are safer and more controlled. Back then, however, patients endured nature’s literal zap to “realign” their health.

10. Herbal Abortions and Forced Miscarriages

Before modern reproductive healthcare, unwanted pregnancies were often dealt with using abortifacient herbs or mechanical trauma. Plants like pennyroyal, rue, and savin were used in high doses to induce miscarriage—though many were also toxic to the mother.

Some ancient midwives employed more violent methods, such as intense massage, physical blows, or insertion of sharp objects into the cervix.

The line between abortion and execution was dangerously thin, and countless women suffered or died due to these unregulated, brutal attempts at reproductive control.