Chinese C18 woodcut: External medicine - 'Eel leak'

Early 18th-century Chinese woodcut illustration of 'Eel leak' (shan lou) affecting the leg, from Yizong jinjian: Waike xinfa (The Golden Mirror Of Medicine: Essential Knowledge and Secrets of External Medicine). A medical anthology in 90 juan (volumes/fascicles), Yizong jinjian was executed as an imperial commission by Wu Qian (Qing period, 1644-1911) et al., and printed in Beijing at Wuyingdian (the Hall of Martial Prowess - the imperial printing house) in 1742 (7th year of the Qianlong reign period of the Qing dynasty). Waike xinfa is one of 15 monographs included in the anthology. It is a systematic treatise on Chinese external medicine in 16 volumes. It covers the system of channel (meridians), ulcers and abscesses (yongju), and the treatment of external conditions of various parts of the body. It contains 266 illustrations.

Image caption: Illustration of 'Eel leak' (shan lou)