KNOWLEDGE DRILL 1-4: HISTORICAL PHLEBOTOMY EVENTS Number the following events in chronological order from 1 to 5, with 1 being the earliest recorded event. A. Leeching was widely practiced in Europe, especially France. B. C. "Short robe" surgeons used cupping and leeching to extract blood. Microsurgeons use leeching to lessen the complications of surgery. Hippocrates used bloodletting to cleanse the body of impurities. D. E. Physicians used a procedure called venesection to treat George Washington.