The Story of Phlebotomy: A Historical Perspective (Online CE Course)

Continuing Education Credits

P.A.C.E.® Contact Hours (acceptable for AMT, ASCP, and state recertification): 1 hour(s) Approved through 7/31/2025

Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel Credit Hours - General: 1 hour(s) Approved through 7/31/2025

Objectives

• Identify the origin and basic elements of the term phlebotomy.
• Recall the importance of bloodletting in the ancient world.
• Describe the early bloodletting devices and their importance in the ancient world and the middle ages.
• Outline the reasons why bloodletting fell out of favor in the modern age.
• List the major improvements to blood collection devices and procedures that came about in the 20th and 21st centuries.

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Course Outline

• Phlebotomy
• Introduction
• Introduction, continued
• The Ancient World
• The Ancient World - the Four Humors in Relation to the Four Elements
• The Ancient World - Galen's Influence on Medical Practice
• The Middle Ages
• The Middle Ages - Leeching and Cupping
• The Middle Ages - the Development of Barber-Surgeons
• The Middle Ages - Differentiation Between Barber-Surgeons
• The Middle Ages - Debate on How Much Blood to Remove
• The Middle Ages - Calculating Devices and Calendars for Bloodletting
• 1600s Through 1800s
• 1600s Through 1800s, continued
• 1600s Through 1800s - Bloodletting Falls in Disfavor
• 1600s Through 1800s - Bloodletting Still Used in Spite of Opposition
• 1600s Through1800s - Famous Fatal Bleedings
• 20th Century to Present – Different Objectives – Different Tools
• 20th Century to Present – Different Tools Venipuncture
• 20th Century to Present – Different Tools Venipuncture - Luer Locks
• 20th Century to Present – Different Tools Venipuncture - Evacuated Tube System
• 20th Century to Present – Different Tools Venipuncture – The Vacuum Tube of Keidel
• 20th Century to Present – Different Tools Venipuncture – the First Evacuated Blood Collection Tube
• 20th Century to Present – An Ever Changing Technology – Venipuncture Innovations
• 20th Century to Present – An Ever Changing Technology – Automated Venipuncture
• 20th Century to Present – An Ever Changing Technology - Capillary Puncture
• 20th Century to Present – An Ever Changing Technology – Examples of Early Lancets
• 20th Century to Present – An Ever Changing Technology - Capillary Puncture, continued
• 20th Century to Present – An Ever Changing Technology - Capillary Puncture, continued
• Should the Use of Tourniquets Be a Thing of the Past?
• Blood Culture Contamination—Possibly Near 0% in the Future?
• Phlebotomy Standards are not Static—CLSI Releases its 7th Edition of GP41, Collection of Diagnostic Venous Blood Specimens
• 21st Century Forward – A Never Ending Story
• References
• References

Additional Information