Smithsonian Magazine on MSN

These 600-year-old Chinese surgical instruments are coated in an early local anesthetic—carefully extracted from a poisonous plant

In the early 15th century C.E., a doctor in China was entombed with surgical instruments. Recent analysis of residues left on ...
ZME Science on MSN

Ancient surgical tools found in China may hold the earliest chemical evidence of anesthesia

A new study of two 600-year-old surgical tools from a Ming Dynasty tomb in eastern China has identified probable residues of ...
Live Science on MSN

Ming dynasty-era surgical tools may have world's oldest chemical evidence of topical anesthetic

An analysis of residue on centuries-old surgical tools reveals the use of a toxic anesthetic in Ming dynasty-era Chinese ...
The Debrief

600-Year-Old Artifacts Reveal Surprising First Evidence of Sophisticated Ancient Medical Knowledge in China’s Ming Dynasty

New research reveals that ancient Ming Dynasty surgeons were using a remarkably advanced surgical technique as early as the ...

Ming Dynasty Surgeons Used Poison as an Anesthetic, Ancient Tools Reveal

Traces of red material crusted on ancient surgical tools may not be a record of pain, but rather the absence thereof. Metal ...