Bowls like this one were used to catch the blood released by bleeding. The appearance of blood was a useful diagnostic tool for physicians, who examined it for clues about the body's internal state. This large bowl was…

Depicts mullein, rosemary, nettle, and deadly nightshade.

Depicts peony, St. John's wort, aconite or monkshood, and lily of the valley.

Depicts a mad dog, scorpion, rattlesnake, tarantula, centipede, and copperhead.

Depicts dill, peppermint, spurge-laurel, and black bryony.

Depicts parsley, valerian, foxglove, and crowfoot.

Depicts buckthorn, fennel, tansy, and wood sorrel.

Depicts stavesacre, golden rod, lime, and bear berry.

Depicts hemlock, barberry, elder, and oak.

Depicts bittersweet, chamomile, caraway, and Herb Robert.

Depicts scurvy-grass, colchicum or meadow saffron, garlic, and horse-radish.

Depicts juniper, black currant, white horehound, and coltsfoot.

Depicts plantain, white poppy, pennyroyal, and bearsfoot.

Depicts thorn-apple, asparagus, marsh mallow, and hop.

Depicts henbane, calamint, sage, and mustard.

Depicts saffron, meadow-sweet, hedge-mustard, and hedge-nettle.

In a small workshop a medical alchemist tends to the foot of a seated patient while the man's wife and child look on. At left, an assistant grinds a substance--likely a medicine or salve--in a small mortar and pestle.…

Depicts Avicenna along with an anatomical sketch in the background.