The foundations for the scientific study of the body and modern Western medicine as we know it started with William Harvey's discovery of the circulatory system in the early 17th century. But its roots stretch back as far as ancient Greece, when medicine first departed from the divine and the mystical and moved toward observation and logic. Its early development was slow, constrained by the taboo around dissection (only external symptoms could be used for diagnosis), as well as superstition and mysticism (illness was the work of demons and pixies and curable only by penitence). Paul Strathern steers us skillfully through the maze of discoveries, diseases, and wrong turns that have made medicine what it is today—super efficient, high tech, and increasingly costly. A Brief History of Medicine offers an accessible history of the arguments, missteps, and dumb luck that led to the world's most important medical breakthroughs—from anatomy, grave robbing, the plague, and germ theory to vaccination, quackery, microorganisms, and penicillin.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
the truth about florence nightingale?,
By Rachel Urquhart "zelda" (kelso,QLD) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Brief History of Medicine: From Hippocrates' Four Humours to Crick and Watson's Double Helix (Paperback)
This book was fascinating and amazing and wonderful, untill I got to the part about florence nightingale. This person got it wrong, wrong, wrong! What he says about florence is all backward. It was her not the government who wanted to clean up at the crimean war, anyone who knows anything about florence nightingale will know this. Otherwise it was very interesting. Shame about the huge mistake.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting!,
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This review is from: A Brief History of Medicine: From Hippocrates' Four Humours to Crick and Watson's Double Helix (Paperback)
This book kept me interested until the last page. Strathern writes very clear and concise, making sure to hit all the important points in medical discovery throughout history. After reading, I wanted to learn more about many various topics discussed in this book. Great for all science readers!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The practice of medicine is as ancient as humanity itself. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
anthrax bacilli, motu cordis, humoral theory, maternity clinic Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Royal Society, World War, Black Death, Dark Ages, Florence Nightingale, Pasteur Institute, Red Cross, Roman Empire, College of Physicians, Marcus Aurelius, Mary Seacole, Johannes Stephanus, Joseph Meister, Queen Victoria, Crawford Long, Crimean War, Invisible College, New Jersey, Roy Porter, William Harvey, Ancient Greece, Antonine Plagues, Arab Empire New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The practice of medicine is as ancient as humanity itself. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
anthrax bacilli, motu cordis, humoral theory, maternity clinic Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Royal Society, World War, Black Death, Dark Ages, Florence Nightingale, Pasteur Institute, Red Cross, Roman Empire, College of Physicians, Marcus Aurelius, Mary Seacole, Johannes Stephanus, Joseph Meister, Queen Victoria, Crawford Long, Crimean War, Invisible College, New Jersey, Roy Porter, William Harvey, Ancient Greece, Antonine Plagues, Arab Empire New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 44
books:
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- Aubrey's Brief Lives (Nonpareil Books, No 77) by John Aubrey on page 109, and Back Matter
- The Life of William Harvey by Sir Geoffrey Keynes in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Introduction to the Study of Experimental by C Bernard on page 225
- Scanty Particulars by Rachel Holmess in Back Matter
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography. by Charles Coulston Gillispie in Back Matter
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