Great Discoveries in Medicine

Sickness and health, birth and death, disease and cure: medicine and our understanding of the workings of our bodies and minds are an inextricable part of how we know who we are. Great Discoveries in Medicine provides an unrivalled account of the evolution of medical knowledge and practice from ancient Egypt, India and China to today's latest technology, from letting blood to keyhole surgery, from the theory of humours to the genetic revolution, from the stethoscope to the MRI scanner. In this inspiring compendium an international team of distinguished experts explains medicine's turning points and conceptual changes in a refreshingly accessible way and answers some key questions: how has the plague influenced the course of human history? What effect did the pill have on the lives of women, and on society as a whole? How exactly are diseased hearts and worn-out hips replaced? What should complementary medicine's role be? And how did an audacious self-experiement lead to a cure for stomach ulcers and a Nobel Prize? The book is magnificently illustrated throughout with a unique array of pictures, from Islamic manuscripts and Renaissance anatomical drawings to the very latest computer-generated images of viruses and photographs revealing the hidden world within our bodies. The science and art of healing is now more necessary than ever, as our bodies face new challenges from the globalisation of disease, environmental change and increased longevity. This timely volume is the best guide ever published to medicine's achievements and its prospects for the 21st century.