A bestselling history of medicine, enriched with a new foreword, concluding essay, and bibliographic essay. Erwin H. Ackerknecht’s A Short History of Medicine is a concise narrative, long appreciated by students in the history of medicine, medical students, historians, and medical professionals as well as all those seeking to understand the history of medicine. Covering the broad sweep of discoveries from parasitic worms to bacilli and x-rays, and highlighting physicians and scientists from Hippocrates and Galen to Pasteur, Koch, and Roentgen, Ackerknecht narrates Western and Eastern civilization’s work at identifying and curing disease. He follows these discoveries from the library to the bedside, hospital, and laboratory, illuminating how basic biological sciences interacted with clinical practice over time. But his story is more than one of laudable scientific and therapeutic achievement. Ackerknecht also points toward the social, ecological, economic, and political conditions that shape the incidence of disease. Improvements in health, Ackerknecht argues, depend on more than laboratory knowledge: they also require that we improve the lives of ordinary men and women by altering social conditions such as poverty and hunger. This revised and expanded edition includes a new foreword and concluding biographical essay by Charles E. Rosenberg, Ackerknecht’s former student and a distinguished historian of medicine. A new bibliographic essay by Lisa Haushofer explores recent scholarship in the history of medicine.

In this lively, learned, and wholly engrossing volume, F. González-Crussi presents a brief yet authoritative five-hundred-year history of the science, the philosophy, and the controversies of modern medicine. While this illuminating work mainly explores Western medicine over the past five centuries, González-Crussi also describes how modern medicine’s roots extend to both Greco-Roman antiquity and Eastern medical traditions. Covered here in engaging detail are the birth of anatomy and the practice of dissections; the transformation of surgery from a gruesome art to a sophisticated medical specialty; a short history of infectious diseases; the evolution of the diagnostic process; advances in obstetrics and anesthesia; and modern psychiatric therapies and the challenges facing organized medicine today. González-Crussi’s approach to these and other topics stems from his professed belief that the history of medicine isn’t just a continuum of scientific achievement but is deeply influenced by the personalities of the men and women who made or implemented these breakthroughs. And, as we learn, this field’s greatest practitioners were, like the rest of us, human beings with flaws, weaknesses, and limitations–including some who were scoundrels. Insightful, informed, and at times controversial in its conclusions, A Short History of Medicine offers an exceptional introduction to the major and many minor facets of its subject. Written by a renowned author and educator, this book gives us the very essence of humankind’s search to mitigate suffering, save lives, and unearth the mysteries of the human animal. Praise for F. González-Crussi “What Oliver Sacks does for the mind, González-Crussi [does] for the eye in this captivating set of philosophical meditations on the relationship between the viewer and the viewed.” –Publishers Weekly, on On Seeing “[González-Crussi fuses] science, literature, and personal history into highly civilized artifacts.” –The Washington Post, on There Is a World Elsewhere

Since it was first published in 1955, A Short History of Medicine has been hailed as the best available book of its kind: a concise and readable introduction to the history of medicine, written for students and professionals alike. In twenty short chapters, Ackerknecht traces the fascinating saga of man's progress in the science and art of medicine, from primitive times through early civilizations, classical antiquity, the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and into the mid-twentieth century. The struggles and triumphs of some of history's most renowned medical pioneers -- Hippocrates, Harvey, Jenner, Osler, and many more -- are here, but this is not a catalog of individual accomplishments. Ackerknecht strikes a balance between the history of medicine and its social and cultural background; between medical science and medical practice; and between clinical and preventative medicine, illuminating not only the world of medicine but the position of medicine in the world. --

An eminent geneticist, veteran author, OMMG Series Editor, and noted archivist, Peter Harper presents a lively account of how our ideas and knowledge about human genetics have developed over the past century from the perspective of someone inside the field with a deep interest in its historical aspects. Dr. Harper has researched the history of genetics and has had personal contact with a host of key figures whose memories and experiences extend back 50 years, and he has interviewed and recorded conversations with many of these important geneticists. Thus, rather than being a conventional history, this book transmits the essence of the ideas and the people involved and how they interacted in advancing- and sometimes retarding- the field. From the origins of human genetics; through the contributions of Darwin, Mendel, and other giants; the identification of the first human chromosome abnormalities; and up through the completion of the Human Genome project, this Short History is written in the author's characteristic clear and personal style, which appeals to geneticists and to all those interested in the story of human genetics.

Immerse yourself in the history of medicine - a colourful story of skill, serendipity, trial and error, moments of genius, and dogged determination. From traditional chinese medicine to today's sophisticated gene therapies and robotic surgery, A Short History of Medicine combines riveting storytelling and beautiful images, historical accounts and lucid explanations, to illuminate the story of medicine through time. Witness early, bloody, anaesthetic-free operations; see the first crude surgical instruments; trace the mapping of the circulatory system; follow the painstaking detective work that led to the decoding of the human genome; and understand the role that potions, cures, therapies, herbal medicines, and drugs have played in the human quest to tame and conquer disease, injury, and death. A Short History of Medicine is an engrossing illustrated history and tale of drama and discovery that celebrates the milestones of medical history across generations and cultures.

Originally published in 1941, A History of Medicine provides a detailed and comprehensive guide to the advancement of medicine, from Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Babylonia, all the way up to the 20th century. The book looks at the close relationship between the progress of medicine and its advancement of civilization, it covers the development of medicine from, old magical rites, religious creeds, classical Hippocratism and revolutionary discoveries, while looking at the associated economic, intellectual, and political conditions of life in different nations, during different times. The book provides an essential and detailed look at the rich history of medicine and how it has impacted society.

The history of medicine and surgery is the history of human civilization. This book is intended for the busy medical student, surgical house officer, practicing surgeon, or interested layperson. It is a concise treatise of the development and history of surgical practice and the surgeon from antiquity to the present day. It not only looks back to where we have been but also looks forward to where we might still go. The book is a compilation of medical student lectures given at The University of Chicago for over 15 years.

In three sections, the Oxford Handbook of the History of Medicine celebrates the richness and variety of medical history around the world. It explore medical developments and trends in writing history according to period, place, and theme.