History
This name for handheld venepuncture devices first appears in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts at around A.D. 1000. The name is probably derived from the phlebotome from phlebos, Greek for vein, and tome, meaning to cut. These instruments are the progression from the early use of fish teeth, sharpened stones, and thorns used to penetrate blood vessels. The earliest known examples are made of bronze with a myrtle-leaf shape to the blade. In the 17th and 18th centuries the German Fliete, and French flamettes were developed. These devices with their right-angle blades are the earliest forms of what collectors would now refer to as the fleam.
Read more about this topic: Fleam
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