Mr Cullen tsk tsk tsk first off I was responding to a post from notguilty1 in which he stated
Quote:in the case of Polygraph finds that scientists, judges, courts, and many respected people in the science world, not to mention the very police dept. that didn't charge me with a crime all confirm that it is at best unreliable).
My statement was accurate;
Quote:You forget that scientists, judges, courts, and many respected people in the science world, not to mention police departments use the polygraph every day. Not to mention that Congress commands it certain circumstances.
If you think my statement is incorrect
PROVE IT if you have the intelligence, education, ability or literacy just
PROVE IT.
I am perfectly satisfied that I can come up with sufficient examples to prove its accuracy. The fact that my statement is accurate is further proved by
YOU and this board, because if it WASN'T still being used by scientists, judges, courts, and many respected people in the science world, not to mention police departments and being ordered by Congress. You wouldn't be here because you wouldn't have a cause to rant about at all,
NOW WOULD YOU?
Don't ask me to do your research for you because I used my research time this evening to show you how wrong you are about bloodletting.
You wrote
Quote:One of the main reasons George Washington died was because doctors "bled" him repeatedly. That was an acceptable medical practice back then. You'll probably say, "well, that was then, we now have better medical procedures to use." But "bleeding" a patient NEVER was a scientifically valid procedure, whether used in the past by doctors or not
The first recorded use of medicinal leeches was about 2500 years ago, although there is some evidence that the ancient Egyptians and Aztecs may have used these little blood-sucking creatures to help people that were having medical problems. Back then, leeches were used to
remove the “bad blood” from patients that were suffering from things as basic as a headache.
The practice of “
bloodletting”, which is removing blood from the human body, was very common in the mid 1800’s. In fact, the practice of “bloodletting” was so common that in 1833 alone, France imported over 42 million leeches.
Other methods of “bloodletting” were also widely used during this time, but none were as efficient, predictable, and painless as the leeches. Leech harvesting also became a very popular and lucrative activity during this time. People would walk around in leech infested waters (leeches live in warm, shallow, sheltered water areas) and then remove the leeches that had attached themselves to their legs and feet. The popularity of “bloodletting” using leeches, however, was soon to end.
The practice of “bloodletting” lost its popular in the early 1900’s. It was seen as an old and outdated procedure that had no benefit to the patient. By the early 1920’s, the practice of “bloodletting” was almost never used.
It was not until the mid 1980’s that we would see the return of these small blood-sucking creatures. The use of leeches in medicine, otherwise known as Hirudotherapy, made its comeback in the 1980s after years of decline, with the advent of microsurgery such as plastic and reconstructive surgeries. In operations such as these, one of the biggest problems that arises is venous congestion due to inefficient venous drainage. This condition is known as venous insufficiency. If this congestion is not cleared up quickly, the blood will clot and arteries that bring the tissues their necessary nourishment will become plugged and the tissues will die. It is here where the leeches come in handy. After being applied to the required site, they suck the excess blood, reducing the swelling in the tissues and promoting healing by allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to reach the area until normal circulation can be restored. The leeches also secrete an anticoagulant (known as hirudin) that prevents the clotting of the blood.
What happened to George Washington occurred because of a failed attempt to stop the swelling in the president's throat that was inhhibiting his breathing and preventing him from swallowing. A natural aversion to placing leeches on the human body as well as insufficient understanding about why leeches worked to reduce swelling led to the practice of mechanical venesection. It George Washington's case it was actually a last ditch effort to prevent his suffocation. A tracheotomy was suggested but over ruled. They removed over 8 pints of blood from his body in less than 24 hours and
that was never an "acceptable" or common practice. Basically his doctors knew bloodletting worked, they were just wrong about why and how much.
Other medical procedures that were once common, fell out of favor, and then returned include the use of maggots in infected wounds and trepanation or the burring of holes in the skull to relieve swelling on the brain caused by the accumulation of fluid.
So contrary to your opinion, Bloodletting, Trepanation and the use of maggots in infected woulds are ALL THREE, MEDICALLY ACCEPTED, SCIENTIFICALLY VALID PROCEDURES today.
It really isn't correct to say that bloodletting NEVER was a scientifically valid procedure, because it is. Not just in the past, Right Now it is
Find a better analogy
Sancho Panza
Pages: 
Background check? (Read 20567 times)
