A 15th-Century Surgeon’s Tools Still Carried Traces of Anesthetic 600 Years Later
Researchers have discovered traces of aconitine, a compound from toxic plants, on surgical tools buried with a Ming Dynasty surgeon named Xia Quan. This finding suggests that ancient Chinese physicians may have used aconitine as a topical anesthetic during surgeries. The analysis of the tools, which were unearthed in 1974, provides valuable insights into the medical practices of the Ming Dynasty.
- ▪Xia Quan, a Ming Dynasty surgeon, died in 1411 and was buried with surgical tools.
- ▪Researchers found traces of aconitine on the tools, indicating its use as an anesthetic.
- ▪The tools were discovered in 1974 and have been preserved at the Jiangyin Museum.
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| Publication time | Tue, 26 May 2026 21:50:00 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-26T22:02:54.514Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Xia Quan died in 1411 and was buried with the tools of his trade: scissors and tweezers, the kinds of instruments a Ming Dynasty surgeon may have used for cutting, gripping, and removing tissue. Six hundred years later, researchers took a closer look at the rust.What they found on the corroded surfaces of those tools were probable traces of aconitine, a compound derived from toxic plants in the genus Aconitum. The discovery, published in the journal Antiquity by researchers from China, offers some of the most direct physical evidence yet that Ming Dynasty surgeons may have used an Aconitum-derived substance as a topical anesthetic during surgery.The Ming Dynasty Surgical Tools Inside Xia Quan’s TombResearchers first unearthed the tools in 1974 in Jiangyin County, Jiangsu Province, and…
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