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Media Type
Image
Description
Trephination (or trepanation) is the surgical intervention of drilling, cutting, or scraping a hole into the human skull. As one of the oldest known surgical procedures dating back thousands of years, it is historically used to relieve intracranial pressure, treat head trauma, or release evil spirits. Peru was the center of the intensive practice of trephining in the New World. The use of this operation can be traced from well before the beginning of the Christian era until the 20th century. Without question, ancient Peruvian medicine can be compared favorably with medical practices of such Old World civilizations as Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Keywords
Museum of Medical History, special collections, image gallery
