Archaeologists have unearthed the first chemical evidence of an anaesthetic used in surgery in ancient China, providing new insight into the sophistication of Ming Dynasty medicine.
The discovery was based on residues preserved on a pair of iron surgical scissors and tweezers unearthed from the tomb of Xia Quan, a physician with strong Ming cultural ties, dating to the early Ming period. The tomb dates back to AD 1348 and AD 1411 and was excavated in Jiangyin, eastern China.
The researchers discovered traces of aconitine, a toxic compound from plants of the genus Aconitum, including wolfsbane and monkshood, using a new microscopic imaging technique.
While Chinese medical texts describe the preparation and use of *Aconitum*-based medicines, there has been no direct archaeological evidence to date. Ancient medical residues rarely survive, and when they do, they are usually too small to be studied scientifically.
To solve this problem, they used stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, a non-destructive imaging technique for identifying chemical compounds at the microscopic level without damaging the archaeological artefacts.
Professor Congcang Zhao of Northwest University, one of the authors of this study, said this technique allows researchers to accurately determine the composition of old residues while preserving the object being analysed in the same way.
The analysis revealed traces of aconitine on both surgical instruments, which indicated that they had been employed in procedures where the toxic plant extract was carefully applied to reduce pain.
Although Aconitum is highly toxic, Chinese doctors knew of its dangers and its medicinal use for centuries. Historical records describe a variety of ways of reducing the toxicity of the roots, boiling them in vinegar and adding them to mung beans. The finished products could be used medicinally, such as as local anaesthetics.
Researchers believe that the substance was directly applied to a patient’s skin before surgery and numbed the area prior to surgery. Such a procedure would have taken considerable expertise, as improper use of aconitine could have resulted in severe poisoning or death.
The result suggests that Ming physicians had a sophisticated knowledge of pharmacology and were able to weigh up the therapeutic benefits of powerful compounds against their potentially lethal side effects.
The findings also shed new light on the practicalities of surgery in medieval China. For years doctors used anaesthetic preparations in history, but so far there has been little tangible evidence connecting these preparations to actual surgical instruments.
In highlighting chemical traces that are present on instruments used by a practicing physician, the study offers rare proof that these treatments were not merely theoretical prescriptions but were in fact part of real-world medicine.
Researchers claim that the evidence shows a well-developed approach to surgery in the Ming Dynasty. Physicians not only knew the properties of medicinal plants but developed techniques to treat toxicity in a variety of ways by selecting the right compounds, properly dosing the amounts of drugs, and always following appropriate treatment procedures.
The study also highlights how valuable the development of modern scientific methods in archaeology is. Residues that would have been impossible to find before reveal information about ancient medical knowledge that is now directly related to practices done hundreds of years ago.
Professor Zhao sees this finding as a first meeting of ancient medicine and modern science.
“Six centuries ago, a Ming Dynasty surgeon performed an operation with a pair of iron scissors and tweezers,” he said. “Today, we have found traces of anaesthetic medicine preserved on those instruments using laser-based imaging technology.”
The findings provide compelling evidence that Chinese physicians were successfully using plant-based anaesthetics as early as the 14th century AD, centuries before the appearance of modern anaesthesia. More broadly, they show that a medical tradition of practical surgical practice alongside a knowledge of toxicology and pharmaceutical preparation was built in.
As new analytical methods of analysis of archaeological discoveries of ancient China are applied to the archaeological findings, researchers are hopeful that there is more evidence for the future perspective on medicine in ancient China and the people who have made it possible and how well with the people who were behind it.
Sources : Antiquity
