Top 20 Most Insane Medical Experiments In History

8. Dr. Henry Cotton’s Surgeries

A little closer to home in the state of New Jersey, Dr. Henry Cotton sought to treat psychological illness by removing actual body parts. These parts included teeth, tonsils, ovaries, and testicles. As you can imagine, little but pain and suffering came from these experiments.

7. J. Marion Sims Surgery Without Anesthesia

It isn’t easy treading the waters of the unknown, and while he did a lot of good advancing gynecological surgery, this required J. Marion Sims to conduct what would today be considered some grotesque surgical practices. Specifically, Sims conducted numerous vaginal surgeries without the use of local anesthesia.

6. Accidentally Giving Inmates Bubonic Plague

While it was purely accidental, number 6 on our list is a humdinger. While attempting to find a cure for Cholera while working in the Philippines, Dr. Richard Strong gave patients the bubonic plague instead of a Cholera vaccine – by accident! The black death is not a good way to go.

5. Robert Bartholomew Electrocutes A Patient’s Brain

Number 5 on our list is, well, shocking. While trying to ascertain the inner workings of the brain, which does function off of electrical impulses, Dr. Robert Bartholomew shocked patients brains, directly, with electrodes. As you may have guessed, irreversible brain damage ensued.