1-157-405 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Trephination, 1593. Using an elevator to remove a piece of bone from the skull. Trephination as a therapeutic or magico-religious procedure dates back to Neolithic times, with trephines (or 'trepans') often used as a method of releasing evil spirits from the patient. Over the centuries, this surgical procedure continued to be used to treat a variety of symptoms, from migraine to mental illness. From Veldt Boeck van den Chirugia Scheel-Hans by Hans von Gersdorf. (Amsterdam, 1593).