Buzz
Bezoar stones are found in the digestive systems of both humans and animals. The stone pictured here is 1.77 inches (45 mm) in diameter, while the one to the left comes from a camel. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Wellcome ImagesDo you recall Professor Snape's explanation of a bezoar in the first Harry Potter film? A stone from a goat’s stomach that can save someone from most poisons. That’s accurate in the wizarding world. But what about in our Muggle world?
Snape wasn’t entirely wrong. A bezoar is a mass of hardened, undigested matter found in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals like deer, antelope, goats, oxen, and llamas. It forms when calcium and magnesium phosphate layers accumulate around a small plant fiber or pebble. Stomach contractions shape it into a roughly spherical form.
An artificially created version of an Indian goa stone, complete with its protective case, can be found on Wikimedia Commons/Wellcome Images."Bezoar" is derived from pad-zahr, a Persian term meaning antidote. These rock-like formations, originally discovered in sacrificial animals, were thought to be a universal remedy for poison, leprosy, measles, cholera, and depression. They could be worn as protective charms, ground into powder for ingestion, or dropped into a drink suspected to contain poison.
Arabian doctors began using bezoars in the 8th century, later introducing them into Western medicine during the 12th century as a remedy for arsenic poisoning, a popular method of assassination among European elites. By the 16th century, bezoars had become highly prized among the wealthy, with their value exceeding 10 times their weight in gold. Queen Elizabeth I even wore one set in a silver ring.
For those unable to acquire a genuine bezoar, counterfeit versions were available. Jesuit priests in Goa, India created replicas using materials such as shells, silt, amber, resin, and sometimes even actual bezoar matter or crushed gemstones. These imitation stones were believed to neutralize poisons and cure the plague, and they fetched astronomical prices.
In 1575, French surgeon Ambroise Paré conducted an experiment to disprove the medicinal claims surrounding bezoars. After a cook in his household was caught stealing silver and sentenced to be hanged, Paré offered him a chance to survive: if the cook consented to being poisoned, he would receive a bezoar. Should he survive, he would be freed. Tragically, the cook died in excruciating pain hours later, providing Paré with the evidence he sought.
Bezoars can also be found in humans, with trichobezoars being the most common type, primarily consisting of hair. Rapunzel syndrome is a rare form of trichobezoar where the mass extends from the stomach into the small intestine, resembling Rapunzel's long hair cascading down the walls of the tower where she was kept captive.
