# With the advances of modern medicine, how long could a victim be tortured, healed, and tortured again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614 "2023-09-04T21:52:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/1 "2023-09-04T21:52:26Z")
Morbid question: I recall reading from _Foxe’s Book of Martyrs_ that, hundreds of years ago, the Spanish Inquisition had doctors whose job it was to heal torture victims so they could be tortured again. This had me wondering if modern medicine in some sort of sadistic current-day regime could keep such people alive against their will for as long as possible. Could someone be tortured for 50 years this way - torture, then a few months for healing, then more torture? The limitations, I’d imagine, would be that such a victim’s hormones would always be severely out of whack and that their heart, etc. would be under immense strain, probably chronically high blood pressure - but again, could modern medicine stabilize such hormones and factors against the victim’s will so they live longer? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/2 "2023-09-04T22:35:51Z")
There’s this kinda-adjacent thread from 3 weeks ago. > [@(Ancient) torture vs modern pain killers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-torture-vs-modern-pain-killers/988526): > > Do we have pain killers that would stand up to things like the brazen bull, rack, crucifixion, Judas’ cradle, etc without suffering pain, but allow also one to be fully aware of what is happening and also that the pain killers would not hinder motor function ? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/3 "2023-09-05T11:18:15Z")
I think it would be better to modify the torture method to achieve the desired result. At this time I believe we have the ability to operate on someone who is awake and aware but unable to move. A report of a woman who had a c-section in this condition as she was not given all the meds, said it felt like she was being ripped open and hot lead being poured inside her. If so one could just go around operating on various parts of the body, perhaps as a way of training doctors and the victim may not know what operation would be next and with the sterile conditions of the operating room I think that would work well for it’s purpose. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/4 "2023-09-05T11:22:35Z")
I think you have to be more specific about the types of torture you’re interested in. A person could be kept in solitary confinement for decades, for instance. Is that torture? Some people think so. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/5 "2023-09-05T11:31:04Z")
Yes, but it would be for a limited amount of time because the effects on the heart, circulatory system, brain, etc, would inevitably prove fatal. Even the healing respites would be incredibly stressful as the individual would be counting down the time to his next torture session. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/6 "2023-09-05T13:15:49Z")
Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/7 "2023-09-05T15:04:59Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Morbid question: Morbid reply. A friend’s 3 year old niece has cancer. She is now on her third round of chemotherapy. There were times during the first two rounds where it was though she might die, but she is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/8 "2023-09-05T15:26:17Z")
I think one would have to clarify the goal of the torture. Gathering information? Getting someone to confess to something, whether they did it or not? Getting someone to say things against their country for propaganda purposes? Getting someone to renounce their religion? Torture just because the person doing the torturing enjoys it? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-the-advances-of-modern-medicine-how-long-could-a-victim-be-tortured-healed-and-tortured-again/989614/9 "2023-09-05T21:12:19Z")
I’m pretty sure that, nowadays, it’s possible to directly stimulate pain receptors without doing any actual damage to the body at all.