Curiosities,Creepy WorldJUL 23, 2025

29 Strange, Old Medical Pics That Could Make Even Medical Students Say “Nope”

Eglė Bliabaitė, Justin Sandberg and Justinas Keturka

Medicine has really come a long way from the times in the past where you would, at best, get some herbs and a prayer if you were sufficiently sick or injured. But people still tried their best and even got creative, as medical museums around the world can show us.

We’ve gathered weird, creepy and unusual pictures of medical devices from the past. Be warned, some are a bit off-putting. So get comfortable, thank your lucky stars you were born in a time of modern medicine, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts and perhaps even experiences in the comments down below.

#21 Mummy Powder

Old red medical container labeled MUMIA, an unsettling medical device from the past displayed on a wooden shelf.

Going back hundreds of years, powdered mummies were a popular remedy used to treat various ailments. Many physicians between the 12th and 18th centuries believed the ground-up bones and remains of ancient mummies had healing properties. The mummy powder could be ingested for pain or applied as a topical medicine for wounds and many other ailments. However, from the early 20th century, the use of the powder became a controversial practice, with most deeming it unsavoury.

Bullenwächter, Medical News Today

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35points

Even mental health care, traditionally stigmatized and underprioritized, is finally being assisted by new technologies. Advances in neuroscience and pharmacology have delivered more effective antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and therapies. Telemedicine has also enabled mental health care to be extended to those with access only to distant or underserved areas, transcending once-insurmountable obstacles that isolated many.

#22 Insulin Shock Therapy

Two nurses using an unsettling medical device on a patient in bed, highlighting vintage medical equipment from the past.

Introduced in 1927 by Dr. Manfred Sakel, insulin shock therapy, also known as insulin coma therapy, was a treatment for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. It involved injecting patients with large doses of insulin to cause daily comas over several weeks. While some patients experienced improvement in their symptoms, insulin shock therapy was risky, resulting in prolonged comas or even fatalities. By the 1960s, the therapy was abandoned in favor of new antipsychotic medications.

wikimedia, Wikipedia

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34points

#23 The Bergonic Chair

Vintage medical device in use with nurse and patient, showcasing unsettling medical technology from the past.

This controversial medical device from the early 20th century was used to give electroconvulsive therapy to psychiatric patients. The contraption allowed them to sit in it like they would a reclining chair and then receive shock treatments from the machine. The currents that traveled through the cables and into the body were said to cause seizures, which were supposedly therapeutic to patients.

National Museum of Health and Medicine, EEHE

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32points

#24 The Electric Bath

Man observes a patient inside an unsettling medical device cage, showcasing early 20th century medical equipment.

Likely a forerunner of the modern sunbed, the electric bath was an early 20th-century light therapy device. Patients were placed inside a cabinet containing ultraviolet lamps that provided doses of artificial sunlight to the skin. Deemed a cutting-edge therapy at the time, the device was believed to promote numerous health benefits, including improving circulation, easing joint pain, treating skin conditions, and more.

Reinhold Thiele / Getty Images, Wikipedia

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32points

These medical breakthroughs aren't merely adding years to human life, -they're adding quality. Increasing numbers of children live through infancy. Increasing numbers of old folks aren't tormented by crippling pain. Surgery no longer so often leads to infection, and illnesses that once wiped out entire villages are now curable, treatable, or even preventable altogether.

#25 Snake Oil

Vintage snake oil liniment medical device advertisement showcasing outdated pain relief remedies.

Today, the term “snake oil” is used to describe something fake or disingenuous, but in the 19th century, it referred to actual oil from water snakes utilized in Chinese traditional medicine. The oil was seen as a cure-all with excellent anti-inflammatory properties. In the US, from the early 1900s, many brands began marketing placebos and bad substances as snake oil, which is how the oil became a symbol of all things bogus.

Clark Stanley, National Library of Medicine

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#26 Bloodletting

Black and white photo of an old medical device being used on a woman’s arm in a historical medical setting.

Bloodletting was an ancient medical treatment involving the intentional drawing of blood by venesection (opening a vein with a lancet or special fleam blade) or applying leeches to treat diseases and health conditions. Physicians believed it could balance the body’s humors (four fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, responsible for health) and expel disease. Practiced for over two millennia, bloodletting was abandoned in the 19th century after scientific medicine proved it was harmful.

Niels Keyland, Rachael Zimlich

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30points

#27 Mercury Injections

Vintage medical device setup for intramuscular mercury injection by a man in early 20th-century clinical attire.

From as early as the 16th century, mercury was used as a treatment for syphilis despite it being extremely toxic to the human body. Many patients experienced severe side effects such as nerve damage, organ failure, and even death after undergoing mercury treatment. The injections remained popular up until the early 20th century when penicillin, a far more effective treatment, was finally discovered.

Baketel, Harrie Sheridan, Science Museum

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29points

We still face challenges, healthcare access, cost, and the ethical issues that come with rapid innovation. But acknowledgment of what has already been accomplished provides context for the worth of continuing investment, questioning, and compassion in medicine. Today's devices may appear mundane, but they're built on centuries of toil and exploration. We can appreciate them not just as indulgences, but as human genius achievements, demonstrations that progress is within reach, and sometimes lifesaving.

#28 Schnee Baths

Man undergoing treatment with unsettling medical devices from the past while a nurse observes in a vintage clinical room.

Schnee baths were a type of electrified bath for treating rheumatism and joint pain. Popular in hospitals and spas from the late 1800s into the 1930s, patients would sit with each limb submerged in its own galvanised basin. A mild current was passed through the water, making these baths painless and free of shock or discomfort. However, by the early 20th century, Schnee baths were dismissed as quackery and abandoned by the medical community.

Library and Archives Canada, BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives

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27points

#29 Chest Fluoroscopy

Two men operate unsettling medical devices on a patient lying on a table in a vintage medical setting.

Widely used during WWII, chest fluoroscopy allowed doctors to view the lungs and heart of a patient in real-time using a fluorescent screen. This was extremely useful when it came to diagnosing complex injuries and lung infections. However, it exposed both the doctor and patient to high levels of radiation. Today, digital fluoroscopy has significantly decreased the risk of radiation exposure.

National Museum of Health and Medicine, Cleveland Clinic

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26points

Poll Question

What feeling does learning about historic medical devices evoke in you?

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