Aconitine Traces Found on Ming-Era Surgical Scissors
@Nature reported that fifteenth-century surgical scissors and tweezers from a Ming-era tomb carried traces of the toxic plant compound aconitine, pointing to the application of liquid medication on patients' skin more than 600 years ago.
newscientist.comSurgical scissors recovered from a Ming-era tomb carried traces of the toxic plant compound aconitine, according to chemical analysis published in the journal Antiquity. @Nature reported that the traces on the fifteenth-century tools suggest physicians applied liquid medication directly to the skin of patients.
The same report noted that topical anaesthetics appear to have been in use in China more than 600 years ago.
The study, led by Ling, X. 10347 in 2026. 1038/d41586-026-01669-4. The image credit for the surgical scissors is listed as Ling, X. et al.
0). @Nature stated that anaesthetics are now part of every operating room, while physicians have sought to reduce surgical pain for centuries.
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