Riots over the medical use of cadavers Public access to institutions for the insane And fullblown surgeries without the aid of anesthetics or painkillers Welcome to the middle ages of American medicine Bleed Blister Puke and Purge exposes the extraordinary practices and major players of American medical history from the colonial era to the late 1800s Its hard to believe that todays cuttingedge medicine originated from such crude beginnings but this book reminds us to be grateful for todays medical care while also raising the question what current medical practices will be the horrors of tomorrow