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It is believed that the Incas used anesthesia. Evidence supports the theory that shamans chewed cocoa leaves and drilled holes into the heads of patients (letting evil spirits escape), spitting into the wounds they made. The mixture of cocaine, saliva, and resin numbed the site enough to allow hours of drilling.
Human kidneys will clean about 1 million gallons of blood in an average lifetime.
Blood is approximately twice as thick as water because of the cells and other components found in it.
It is widely believed that giving a daily oral dose of aspirin to heart attack patients improves their chances of survival because the aspirin blocks the formation of new blood clots.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all women age 65 years of age or older should be screened with bone densitometry.