Examples of a metal bleeding cup used to withdraw blood from patients for various ailments and a glass cupping device used to raise a blister on the skin to lance for bleeding. A small incision was made in the patient and a piece of lint placed in the cup and ignited; the open end of the cup was placed over the incision or wound creating a vacuum which drew the desired amount of blood out. Bleeding was an ancient method of treating patients that was still in use during the Civil War, but the practice became increasingly unpopular as the war progressed.
Images Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30588 & 30589
