Cupping in Ancient Western Medicine

[Guest guest]

The following passage, from Celsus (circa 40 AD), sounds like it could come from

a textbook on TCM.

 

Cucurbitularum duo vero genera sunt, aeneum et corneum. Aenea altera parte

patet, altera clausa est: altera cornea parte aeque patens altera foramen habet

exiguum. In aeneam linamentum ardens coicitur, ac sic os eius corpori aptatur

inprimiturque, donec inhaereat. Cornea corpori per se inponitur, deinde, ubi ea

parte, qua exiguum foramen est, ore spiritus adductus est, superque cera cavum

id clausum est, aeque inhaerescit. There are two kinds of cups, bronze and

horn. One part of the bronze lies open, the other is closed. One part of the

horn cup lies equally open, the other has a small hole. Into the bronze cup a

piece of burning lint is passed, and thus its mouth is applied to the body and

pressed, until it clings. The horn is placed on the body as it is, the then,

once air is drawn out by the mouth from the small hole and the hollow sealed

with wax, it also adheres. (Book II, 11, 1-2)

 

Ubi inhaesit, si concisa ante scalpello cutis est, sanguinem extrahit, si

integra est, spiritum. Ergo ubi materia, quae intus est, laedit, illo modo,

ubi inflatio, hoc imponi solet. If the skin where the cup adheres is cut

beforehand with a scalpel, blood is extracted, if left intact, wind. Therefore

when some internal material does injury, use the former method (cupping with

incision), when some inflation, use the latter (cupping without incision) (Book

II, 11, 3)

 

These passages show Celsus conversant with a method of treatment remarkably

similar to modern usages. He also refers to conditions of pathogenic wind.

Cupping directly reverses the pathogenesis of wind conditions, sucking out what

had been blown in (inflatio).

 

Knowing that this passage exists gives me great joy. Practitioners who use

cupping, therefore, could legitimately claim to be using an ancient western

practice. For biomedical doctors not to recognize and recover this practice

could come only from a prejudiced mind-set not pragmatism. For me one of the

exciting aspects TCM's growth in the West is how it may prepare the way for an

unbiased rereading of western medical classics. Most professors of medicine, if

they ever even laid eyes on Celsus, would probably dismiss him as unscientific.

The contrary may be argued, however, as an even more important criterion for

medicine than falsifiability, that no science or art will long survive if it

does not engage in on-going dialogue with its past. A science that constitutes

itself as rootless, i.e. as having no literate tradition, will eventually stop

bearing fruit.

 

 

 

Carl Ploss

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

My mother-in-law grew up in French Algeria, and her mother used cupping

on her when when she was a child. A former patient of mine whose

grandmother was Russian said that cupping was a folk remedy there too.

I always thought that was interesting.

 

Jody Herriott, L.Ac.

Ashland, OR

 

On Jul 21, 2004, at 8:42 AM, carl ploss wrote:

 

>

> The following passage, from Celsus (circa 40 AD), sounds like it

> could come from a textbook on TCM.

>

> Cucurbitularum duo vero genera sunt, aeneum et corneum.  Aenea altera

> parte patet, altera clausa est:  altera cornea parte aeque patens

> altera foramen habet exiguum.  In aeneam linamentum ardens coicitur,

> ac sic os eius corpori aptatur inprimiturque, donec inhaereat.  Cornea

> corpori per se inponitur, deinde, ubi ea parte, qua exiguum foramen

> est, ore spiritus adductus est, superque cera cavum id clausum est,

> aeque inhaerescit.   There are two kinds of cups, bronze and horn. 

> One part of the bronze lies open, the other is closed.  One part of

> the horn cup lies equally open, the other has a small hole.  Into the

> bronze cup a piece of burning lint is passed, and thus its mouth is

> applied to the body and pressed, until it clings.  The horn is placed

> on the body as it is, the then, once air is drawn out by the mouth

> from the small hole and the hollow sealed with wax, it also adheres.

> (Book II, 11, 1-2)

>

> Ubi inhaesit, si concisa ante scalpello cutis est, sanguinem

> extrahit, si integra est, spiritum.   Ergo ubi materia, quae intus

> est, laedit, illo modo, ubi inflatio, hoc imponi solet.   If the skin

> where the cup adheres is cut beforehand with a scalpel, blood is

> extracted, if left intact, wind.   Therefore when some internal

> material does injury,  use the former method (cupping with incision),

> when some inflation, use the latter (cupping without incision) (Book

> II, 11, 3)

>

> These passages show Celsus conversant with a method of treatment

> remarkably similar to modern usages.  He also refers to conditions of

> pathogenic wind.  Cupping directly reverses the pathogenesis of wind

> conditions, sucking out what had been blown in (inflatio).  

>

> Knowing that this passage exists gives me great joy.  Practitioners

> who use cupping, therefore, could legitimately claim to be using an

> ancient western practice.  For biomedical doctors not to recognize and

> recover this practice could come only from a prejudiced mind-set not

> pragmatism.  For me one of the exciting aspects TCM's growth in the

> West is how it may prepare the way for an unbiased rereading of

> western medical classics.  Most professors of medicine, if they ever

> even laid eyes on Celsus, would probably dismiss him as unscientific. 

> The contrary may be argued, however, as an even more important

> criterion for medicine than falsifiability, that no science or art

> will long survive if it does not engage in on-going dialogue with its

> past.  A science that constitutes itself as rootless, i.e. as having

> no literate tradition, will eventually stop bearing fruit. 

>

>

>

> Carl Ploss

>

>            

>

>

> Vote for the stars of 's next ad campaign!

>

>