One of my favourites was Asthma Cigarettes.
http://images.google.com/images?q=As...ed=0CCYQsAQwAw
Some how medical "science", at that time, determined that a good way to help someone with Asthma was to give them drugged cigarettes.
On a more modern note, if you can see how thoracic surgery is done today, the tools used to crack the chest will remind you of the 18th century. Rib Spreaders comes to mind. That is one sound you never forget.