This makes the musket ball a rare find because while many lead musket balls from the Civil War and prior conflicts have been found with teeth marks on them, Dr. Bernard Levy analyzed the musket ball and verified the impressions are from a human’s dentition. University of Maryland Dental School pathologist and forensic odontologist Dr. The bullet on display at the museum was excavated from what is now the Northport section of Baltimore but is believed to have been a field hospital during the War of 1812. The bullet has molar tooth cusp imprints, reportedly from a patient biting during surgery without anesthesia.Īn evidence possibly showing the origin of the phrase is the tooth marks found on a 200-year-old musket ball on display at The Dr. The 21st Massachusetts Regiment had fought at a local cornfield with extreme and horrifying injuries. 50 caliber bullet found at the site of the Battle of Ox Hill. Prior to the late 1800s, one could get drunk or literally bite the bullet, neither of which had any effect on pain.

From the book Anesthesia in Cosmetic Surgery, edited by Barry Friedberg (Publisher: Cambridge University Press):

Bite the bullet movie quotes and trivia