Medicine in the Middle Ages:cataract operation
Undergo surgery in the Middle Ages, when anesthesia real was still far from making its appearance, it must have been much worse than today, since the only remedy for the pain of patients, with all the shortcomings we can imagine, was a sponge.
However, it was not just any sponge, but the " spongia somnifera ", A real work tool for the doctors of the time and therefore appropriately treated for the purpose.
The completely natural sponge, after being fished from the seabed and left to dry in the sun, was placed in a copper container together with a "deadly" cocktail of opium, henbane, juice of unripe blackberries, brambles, climbing ivy, belladonna leaves, lettuce and poppy and boiled for hours until the concoction was more or less completely absorbed, after which it was left to dry in the sun for about a month.
If necessary, or just before surgery, the sponge was revived by cooking it in a water bath and finally placed near the patient's nostrils; the sedative action of the substances used, albeit mildly, was able to soothe and better tolerate the pain caused by the operation. (Photo gives:topicality.tuttogratis.it)