Human bake oven

A patient being baked

The human bake oven, also known as the Tallerman–Sheffield treatment,[1] Tallerman treatment[2] or Tallerman's apparatus,[3] was a Victorian era medical contraption used to treat various ailments, primarily joint problems such as rheumatism. Based on the knowledge that heat is often useful in alleviating pain, patients would be placed in the iron lung-like machine and then baked at temperatures typically around 138°C (280°F) but sometimes as high as 204°C (400°F). The sensation was variously described as either quite pleasant or feeling like one was being roasted alive.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (24th ed.). W. B. Saunder's Company. 1965. p. 1506.