The world of bizarre corpse medicine rose to prominence in Europe during the 17th and 18th century, as it was very popular among kings as well as commoners.
According to Dr. Richard Sugg’s 2011 book Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: the History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians, Europeans "prescribed, swallowed or wore human blood, flesh, bone, fat, brains and skin against epilepsy, bruising, wounds, sores, plague, cancer, gout and depression."
As odd as it may sound to do so nowadays, back then it was considered a go-to quick fix for many diseases...
"In the heyday of medicinal cannibalism bodies or bones were routinely taken from Egyptian tombs and European graveyards. Not only that, but some way into the eighteenth century one of the biggest imports from Ireland into Britain was human skulls," explained Dr. Sugg, lecturer in Renaissance Literature at Durham University and author of the book, according to the Daily Mail.
In corpse medicine, mummy powder was used as a powerful treatment for bruises, headaches, and stomachaches back in the 12th century.
According to the Daily Mail, it was falsely reported to be the mummified remains of "the ancient kings of Egypt."
Mummy powder was just one method, though.
There was also "The king's drops," made of ground skulls and used by King Charles II of England to improve stamina. It is reported that he "distilled human skull himself in his private laboratory."