Discusses an application of cupping, an ancient medical remedy, as a springboard for examining the historical context and modern-day implications of this procedure. One form of cupping involves rubbing alcohol inside a glass jar, igniting it with a flame, putting the jar on the skin over the area of the individual’s complaint, and quickly releasing the air in the jar, which creates a vacuum and is supposed to draw blood to the surface to relieve the underlying complaint, in this case, chest congestion. When the patient’s sister, who was performing the procedure, substituted gasoline for alcohol, it spilled down the patient’s back, caught fire, and caused serious burns. Nevertheless, the patient staunchly maintained that cupping was a safe and effective remedy to which the older Russian community in New York still resorted for a variety of ailments. It is not clear whether cupping is an effective placebo or works by some unknown mechanism. Case reports on cupping in the late 1800s show strong similarities with recent reports in the medical literature on transcutaneous nerve stimulation. Even if cupping does not have all the restorative powers its adherents claim, it cannot be summarily dismissed as a medical fraud.
