Health and Wellness in the Renaissance and Enlightenment

(Hardback)

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Examining a 300-year period that encompasses the Scientific Revolution, this engrossing book offers a fresh and clearly organized discussion of the human experience of health, medicine, and health care, from the Age of Discovery to the era of the French Revolution. Health and Wellness in the Renaissance and Enlightenment compares and contrasts health care practices of various cultures from around the world during the vital period from 1500 to 1800. These years, which include the Age of Discovery and the Scientific Revolution, were a period of rapid advance of both science and medicine. New drugs were developed and new practices, some of which stemmed from increasingly frequent contact between various cultures, were initiated. Examining the medical systems of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the colonial world, this comprehensive study covers a wide array of topics including education and training of medical professionals and the interaction of faith, religion, and medicine. The book looks specifically at issues related to women's health and the health of infants and children, at infectious diseases and occupational and environmental hazards, and at brain and mental disorders. Chapters also focus on advances in surgery, dentistry, and orthopedics, and on the apothecary and his pharmacopoeia.

Reviews

[A] well-written text. . . . [An] ideal starting point for anyone interested in the place of medicine during this time period. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduate and general collections in history, women's history, and history of medicine. * Choice *
This series is at once accessible and yet interesting enough to satisfy curious readers of the history of health and wellness. . . . This work is recommended for public and academic libraries as a valuable layperson's introduction to health and wellness across time and spanning the globe. * ARBA *

Author Bio

Joseph P. Byrne, PhD, is historian and professor of honors humanities at Belmont University, Nashville, TN. His published works include ABC-CLIO's The Black Death, Daily Life during the Black Death, The Encyclopedia of the Black Death, and Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues.