Potential Blood Stain
The prominent stain that can be seen on page 15 of this copy of Medical, Chirurgical and Anatomical Cases and Experiments provides interesting insight into how this book was used by medical professionals. Although the exact origin of the stain cannot be certain, it would seem that it is most likely blood, due to the color and smearing of the stain. Alternatively the stain could also be ink. In either case, it is clear that this was a book that was actively used while practicing medicine and the stain was either the product of a patient’s blood or ink from note taking while reading the book. This allows us to really appreciate how this book was not used just to better understand medicine, but in the active practice of medicine by doctors of the time. This detail magnifies the importance of the material provided in the book in contributing to our understanding of medical practice in the second half of the 18th century when this book was published.