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posted by takyon on Saturday August 20 2016, @11:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the memory-hole dept.

3,000yo brain surgery patient likely treated with cannabis, magic mushroom 'painkillers' - study

A Russian researcher has published a new study on a 3,000-year-old medical procedure in which the patient was likely anaesthetized with natural hallucinogens and rhythmic music before the surgeon chiselled into their skull. The study of a Bronze Age man's skull has shed some light into how ancient people of the Krasnoyarsk region in northern Russia treated intracranial diseases.

Published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, the study suggests that mind-bending natural stimulants such as magic mushrooms, cannabis and even the beat of a drum were used to dull the pain caused by primitive surgical instruments. Discovered at the Anzhevsky burial ground last year, the human skull is around 3,000 years old. It features a curious hole to the left parietal lobe, which scientists believe was the result of moderately successful ancient brain surgery, or trepanation.

Dr Sergey Slepchenko, of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, told The Siberian Times the patient survived the initial procedure but likely died later from complications during the recovery period. "The surgeon probably stood face-to-face to the patient on the left side. Or the surgeon may have fixed the head with his left arm or between his knees [and] operated with his right hand," Slepchenko said.

[...] "One of the most dangerous complications of trepanation is bleeding which develops immediately after the skin incision," Dr Slepchenko said. "To minimize bleeding and reduce pain, the operation had to be carried out as fast possible by presumably highly-skilled surgeon. It is not clear how they stopped the bleeding."

I loved the title of the article. I didn't realize there were very many 3,000 year old patients, let alone candidates for brain surgery.

Ante Mortem Cranial Trepanation in the Late Bronze Age in Western Siberia (DOI: 10.1002/oa.2543)


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