Laudable pus

Galen never promoted the concept per se, seeing pus as beneficial only when draining from an abscess. But the concept became associated with him, shaping wound treatment for centuries. “The misconception about pus was one of the most damaging in medical history. Throughout the Middle Ages, doctors commonly let wound infections fester while deliberately rankling them with cautery to provoke further inflammation.” Despite occasional challenges . . . [the] doctrine of laudable pus “remained entrenched until the mid- to late nineteenth century – its vestiges persisting in medical journals until as recently as 1916” (Shahinpoor, 61-62).