A Short History of Medicine

(Paperback)

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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. In this lively, learned, and wholly engrossing volume, F. Gonzalez-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, Gonzalez-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. Written by a renowned author and educator, this book gives us the very essence of our search to mitigate suffering, save lives, and unlock the mysteries of the human animal. " Gonzalez-Crussi fuses science, literature, and personal history into highly civilized artifacts." -The Washington Post, on There Is a World Elsewhere

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[Gonzlez-Crussi fuses] science, literature, and personal history into highly civilized artifacts.
The Washington Post, on There Is a World Elsewhere

Author Bio

F. Gonzalez-Crussi is professor emeritus of pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is the author of Suspended Animation- Six Essays on the Preservation of Bodily Parts, a New York Times Notable Book; The Five Senses, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist; and Notes of an Anatomist, winner of the nonfiction first prize of the Society for Midland Authors. He lives in Chicago.