chemical

Microscopic analysis of 600-year-old medical instruments from China has revealed the world's oldest direct chemical evidence of a topical anesthetic. Researchers discovered trace residues of aconitine, a highly lethal plant-derived toxin, on these ancient Ming surgical tools, a pair of iron scissors and tweezers recovered from the tomb of a revered early Ming Dynasty physician named Xia Quan (1348–1411 AD). The findings provide physical proof of a sophisticated surgical tradition that balanced extreme drug potency with precise patient safety long before modern Western anesthetics. The discovery was made by a research team led by Professor Congcang Zhao from Northwest University in Xi’an, China. By utilizing advanced non-destructive imaging, the scientists managed to identify the microscopic chemical signature of Chinese wolfsbane