A surgeon applying the method of cupping to a man's back: they are surrounded by anxious family and friends. Etching by A. Fantuzzi, ca. 1542, after G. Romano.

On the left, a physician making a diagnosis from a urine flask turns away from the patient, and turns his right palm upwards as if to say "all is lost". A young man, a young woman and a woman with a bucket express agitation. Right, a surgeon with two assistants applies cupping glasses to the patient's back, while a third assistant comforts the patient. Right foreground, a seated woman bent over in despair