Hua Tuo should not be confused with Hua Tou.
| Hua Tuo Chinese: 華佗 | |
| Birth Date: | 140 |
| Birth Place: | Bozhou, Anhui |
| Death Date: | 208 (aged 68) |
| Occupation: | Physician |
| Other Names: | Yuanhua (Chinese: 元化) |
| Hua Tuo | |
| T: | 華佗 |
| P: | Huà Tuó |
| Also Known As: | Yuanhua |
| P2: | Yuánhuà |
Hua Tuo (140–208), courtesy name Yuanhua, was a Chinese physician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Historical texts, such as Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han record Hua Tuo as having been the first person in China to use anaesthesia during surgery. He used a general anaesthetic combining wine with a herbal concoction called mafeisan (Chinese: 麻沸散; literally "cannabis boil powder"). Besides being respected for his expertise in surgery and anaesthesia, Hua Tuo was famous for his abilities in acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine and medical daoyin exercises. He developed the Wuqinxi (Chinese: 五禽戲; literally "Exercise of the Five Animals") from studying the movements of the tiger, deer, bear, ape and crane.
The oldest extant biographies of Hua Tuo are found in the official Chinese histories for the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220) and Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The third-century historical text Records of Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) and the fifth-century historical text Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu) record that Hua Tuo was from Qiao County (Chinese: 譙縣), Pei Commandery (Chinese: 沛郡) (in present-day Bozhou, Anhui) and that he studied Chinese classics throughout the Xu Province (covering parts of present-day Jiangsu and Shandong provinces). He refused employment offers from high-ranking officials, such as Chen Gui, and chose to practise medicine.
The dates of Hua Tuo's life are uncertain. Estimations range from 110 to 207 CE, and from 190 to 265 CE. conclude that the "best estimate" is circa 145–208. Hua Tuo was an older contemporary of the physician Zhang Zhongjing (150–219).
The name Hua Tuo combines the Chinese surname Hua (literally "magnificent; China") with the uncommon Chinese given name Tuo (literally "hunchback" or literally "steep hill"). He was also known as Hua Fu (; literally "apply [powder/ointment/etc.]"), and his courtesy name was Yuanhua (; literally "primal transformation").
Some scholars believe that he was responsible for the development of pressure points used in Chinese martial arts. Victor H. Mair describes him as "many hundreds of years ahead of his time in medical knowledge and practice".
Hua Tuo's biography in the Sanguozhi describes him as resembling a Daoist xian (Chinese: 仙; "immortal") and details his medical techniques.
Hua Tuo's biography in the Houhanshu explains this mafeisan "numbing boiling powder" decoction was dissolved in jiu (; literally "alcoholic beverage; wine"). His prescription for the mafeisan anaesthetic liquor was lost or destroyed, along with all of his writings. The Book of Sui lists five medical books attributed to Hua Tuo and his disciples, but none are extant.
The subsequent portion of Hua Tuo's biography in the Sanguozhi lists 16 medical cases: ten internal medicine, three surgical, two gynaecological, and one paediatric case. Hua Tuo's treatment of diseases was centred on internal medicine, but also included surgery, gynaecology and paediatrics. He removed parasites, performed abortions and treated ulcers, sores and analgesia. For example:
Cao Cao (155–220), a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation for the Cao Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period, was probably Hua Tuo's best known patient. He suffered from chronic headaches, which were possibly caused by a brain tumour. Cao Cao's condition has also been translated as "migraine headaches accompanied by mental disturbance and dizziness" and the acupuncture point on the sole as identified as Yongquan (Chinese: 涌泉; "bubbling fountain").
Cao Cao ordered Hua Tuo to be his personal physician – a job Hua Tuo resented. In order to avoid treating Cao Cao, Hua Tuo repeatedly made excuses that his wife was ill, but Cao Cao discovered the deception and ordered Hua Tuo's execution. Xun Yu, one of Cao Cao's advisers, pleaded for mercy on behalf of the physician.