310 Ulisse Aldrovandi

# Uses in Medicine

I believe that no part of the human body, and no waste it produces, is so insignificant that a physician cannot derive some considerable benefit from it for his patients. For instance, if we look at the head, the philosopher Sextius notes that the hair first clipped from a boy’s head is preserved to treat gout; indeed, when tied around the affected area, it is said to check the force of the inflammation. The hair of adults, however, can cure graying when mixed with vinegar, and when burnt, it heals head wounds if applied with oil and wine. If hair is charred in a vessel, it corrects scabs and itching of the eyes. If it is a woman’s hair that is burnt, the resulting odor drives away snakes; more effectively, that same scent aids women suffering from the suffocation or prolapse of the womb.

The burnt human skull is employed in many conditions. Its ash is helpful because it consumes the humor and the cause of the disease by drying it out; for when bones are burnt, they lose the form of their substance, leaving only their elemental qualities. Although it might seem repulsive to offer patients human bones to drink in some liquid, there are nonetheless authors who prescribe them. Johann Jacob Wecker, for one, administers scrapings from the human skull—specifically from around the seam of the forehead—giving a drachm of it in broth or wine to those suffering from colic or some internal abscess. Similarly, according to Wecker, "epilepsy pills" are formulated which include shavings from a human skull. He also records a powder of the human skull mixed with other powders that warm and dry the head. Oswald Croll, meanwhile, includes the skull among medicines for gout; indeed, the same author calls an oil prepared from the bones of a man who died a violent death "Gout Balsam." Furthermore, an oil sublimated from the human cranium or skull using chemical apparatus brings exceptional relief to those with epilepsy. Joseph Duchesne (Quercetanus) also prepares an "extract of human skull," which he promotes as a most precious treasure against epilepsy; he even extracts a salt from the skull, which he calls "anti-epileptic," not to mention the water and magistery of the skull, all of which are prepared among us as well. Before we leave the subject of the skull, we must mention a certain "Weapon Ointment." This was once given by Paracelsus as a proven remedy to the Emperor Maximilian; if the iron weapon that caused a wound, or the wood stained with the blood of the injured person, was smeared with it, the patient would be healed even from a distance. This ointment, in addition to human fat, mummy, human blood, linseed oil, turpentine, and bole, also required *usnea*—the moss that grows on a human skull exposed to the air.

From the skull, we move to the teeth. The first tooth a child loses is said to have the greatest power if it is caught before it touches the ground and set in a bracelet; women wearing this are believed to be least susceptible to uterine pains. Before we hasten to weigh the virtues of other parts, let us briefly cover the rest of the bones in a few words. Haubertus, following the mind of Galen, reduces human bones to ash and mixes them with head-compounds for gout. Croll, however, operates more effectively by first cremating human bones in a glass furnace and mixing them into a certain powder, which he asserts is of no ordinary benefit to those with dysentery. Surgeons of our age use the dust of human bones on "creeping" ulcers because of a natural sympathy, particularly when bones are exposed, so that once the decay is removed, they may be covered with flesh more quickly. They note, however, that for ulcers of the shin, one should use powdered shin bone; for ulcers of the chest, powdered ribs, and so on. Euonimus prepares an oil from human bones by the chemical art, which is extremely helpful in soothing joint pain. To these, Wecker adds that a potion made from the arm bone, worn along with the tip of a goose wing, provides significant relief to someone suffering from a quartan fever.

The human umbilicus is not without its own virtues; for a portion of it from a newborn child, once cut off,