Human fat: what was it used for?
Rubbed on the skin, or soaked into the bandage of a wound, for pain, inflammation, joint problems, and scars; named in European pharmacopoeias from the sixteenth century.
Human fat: what does modern science say?
Sold in Germany from the late nineteenth century as Humanol, a sterile preparation for injection, and used from 1909 on scars and wounds, it fell out of fashion in the 1920s after low cure rates and fat embolisms.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- triglyceridesoleic, palmitic, linoleic acids
- Mechanism
- Rendered from the executed, it was rubbed on the skin or soaked into the bandage of a wound, on the sympathetic principle that human fat helps bruising. Modern surgery grafts a patient’s own fat to rebuild soft tissue, though much of it is unpredictably resorbed, and that is a different thing.
- Toxic dose
- Injected, as Humanol, it caused fat embolisms.
- Standing
- Believed in European folk medicine to heal until the nineteenth century; a chapter in the history of corpse medicine, which survived well into the eighteenth century and among the poor into Victoria’s time.
- Sugg, R. (2011). Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians. Routledge. Abstract read · the text read
The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
What Medicine Makes of It
- The Weapon-SalveCuring the wound by anointing the blade, and the harm of the remedies it replaced.
Human fat: what lore surrounds it?
See Mummy and the weapon-salve, its companions among the remedies made of the dead.
Used in These Compounds
Human fat is an ingredient of 1 compound medicine in the database. For Club members. Create a free account or sign in.
Sources
- Stuart, K. (1999). Defiled Trades and Social Outcasts: Honor and Ritual Pollution in Early Modern Germany. Abstract read · the text read
- Wikipedia, “Human fat.” Read in full · the text read
- Wikipedia, “Medical cannibalism.” Read in full · the text read
- Böckmann, K. A., et al. (2021). Fatty acid composition of adipose tissue at term indicates deficiency of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid and excessive linoleic acid supply in preterm infants. European Journal of Nutrition 60. Abstract read · the text read
- Sutar, S., et al. (2026). Clinical efficacy of adipose-derived stem cell-enriched lipotransfer versus conventional fat grafting: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cureus 18. Abstract read · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)
- Sources
- 6 cited: 2 read in full, 4 abstract read. 4 with the abstract on file.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026
- Chicago
“Human fat.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/human-fat.
- MLA
“Human fat.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/human-fat. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Human fat. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/human-fat
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See Also
Sharing triglycerides
Drawing on the same sources: Stuart, Wikipedia, Sugg
Ginseng · Goji berry · Iron and steel · Honey · Isinglass · Mummy · the bibliography →
Nearby in the alphabet
Hungary water (steeped in spirit of wine and distilled) · Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) · Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) · Houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale) · Indian and Arabian pills (Two named compound pills of the Arabic-Latin tradition) · Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) · Indian electuary, greater and lesser (the greater and the lesser) · Hop (Humulus lupulus)
Historical description, not medical advice.