Full Description
'Twenty-first century medicine is just the current stage of a never-ending journey of tremendous complexity. Those of us who are fortunate enough to practise in this day and age do so in ways that are themselves the results of huge changes over many centuries - advances in areas such as medication and surgical and imaging techniques and developments in our understanding of the human body and its attendant threats through genetics. Add to that list the huge social and societal changes in public health, attitudes to illness and changes in ethical viewpoints, and we find ourselves at the current forefront of medical evolution but nowhere near the end of this particular journey.' From the Foreword by Paul Lazarus This fascinating book brings to life the history of medicine in Britain since 1600. Throughout the historical account the authors cover mainstream clinical issues but also make reference to the importance of literature and art, presenting a wide-ranging view of the past. It also incorporates milestones in other cultures and epochs, where appropriate, for a balanced overview. The concise, self-contained sections are a joy to read and can be easily dipped into. The majority of chapters include suggested questions for students, assisting group discussion. It is ideal for medical and healthcare course organisers, lecturers and tutors who require a rapid resource of information in their subject area - be it cardiovascular disease, emergency medicine or child protection - to provide context, interest and entertainment for their students. It is also highly recommended as the basis for a programme of seminars on the history of medicine.
Contents
Acknowledgements. Preface. Introduction. EMERGENCY! Heroic patients. War wounds and amputees. Road traffic accidents: from horse carriages to motor vehicles. Accidents in the workplace. Primary care begins at home. Fatality, the coroner's court and medical responsibility. History of resuscitation in England. War to shellshock to post traumatic stress disorder. THE PLEASURES OF LIFE: FOOD, DRINK, DRUGS AND SEX. Fagged out: the medical uses and abuses of tobacco. Sweet teeth: the history of sugar consumption. Their cups runneth over. Friend or Foe: substance use. Before vitamins: the elusive ingredient. Green sickness and other anaemias. The 'single body' and changing understanding of sexuality. THE FACTS OF LIFE: WOMEN, HEALTH AND MEDICINE. On the blob and other menstrual euphemisms. How not to have a baby: the history of contraception. 'The sperm of men is full of small children' and other early ideas about conception. Labour - temporary pain but permanent disability? The medicalisation of childbirth. How midwives became 'gamps'. The 'change': menopause and its meanings. INFECTION, IMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH. The king's evil or wasting disease: tuberculosis. Health and livelihood. From variolation to vaccination. The germ theory of disease. Syphilis, self-pollution and stigma. Flu pandemics of the twentieth century. Child welfare. Water as a historical force. THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE; CHILDHOOD, DISABILITY, AGEING AND MENTAL ILLNESS. Child safeguarding. Two steps forward, one step back: disability. Broken bones and failing joints. Ageing and the good death. What price immortality? Madness and fear. Mind and brain. PRACTISING MEDICINE: DIAGNOSTIC METHODS. Early Greek and Roman contributions. Excreta as a diagnostic tool. The rise of modern medicine: the evolution of physical diagnosis. The beat, beat, beat of the drum: the discovery of circulation and the tools to measure it. Toy to tool: the microscope. PRACTISING MEDICINE: INTERVENTIONS AND CURES. The appeal of the miracle cure. Medical misdirection. The rise of pharmacology: a story of prepared minds, money and serendipity. From party games to pain control: the early story of anaesthesia. Transplantation. Cutting for stone: the hazards of surgery. HEALERS AND HEALTH CARERS. From spicer to pharmacist. Diminishing Nightingale: an alternative history of nursing. The origins of physiotherapy. The shifting sands of health management. Answers.
