Medicine Macabre: The Healing Magic and High Value of Human Fat
What now seems macabre and grisly to many, harvesting parts of the freshly dead human body for use in healing was an old, traditional practice by doctors who claimed it was excellent in treating and curing a host of ailments.
Between skull powder medicine and fresh blood concoctions, ancient doctors working in the field of so-called ‘corpse medicine’ let no part of a dead body go to waste. Not a remedy for the squeamish perhaps, ancient and early modern healers extolled the virtues of human fat and its healing properties.
Pharmacopoeias, or ancient medical texts, listed human fat as an important component of ointments and salves in Europe since the 16th century. Besides fat from the likes of beavers, bears, snakes, cats and more, human fat was included in old medicine recipes.
