noun
- Plural of fleam; small surgical instruments with a blade, historically used for bloodletting or lancing boils.
Usage: archaic; medical history
Examples
- Medieval physicians carried fleams in their medical kits for bloodletting procedures.
- The barber-surgeon's collection included several fleams of different sizes.
- Fleams were commonly used to lance infected wounds before modern antibiotics.
- Historical medical texts describe the proper technique for using fleams safely.