Abstract
The practice of bleeding, as evidenced by the De medicina by Cassius Felix, is emblematic of the therapeutics of the Ancients. It finds its foundation in the humoral theory of Hippocrates and also in the representation of the blood system in antiquity. The function of bleeding is not only to evacuate the blood but also to divert it by revulsion or derivation. As this practice was risky, alternative solutions were considered : cupping glasses with or without scarification, leeches, scarifications alone. They remained in common use until the end of the 19th century even at the beginning of the 20th century, because the physiological effects of blood emissions on the body are real. And although it has long been known that they cannot act on the causes of diseases, they have some effect on certain symptoms.
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