History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction - Softcover

Duffin, Jacalyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802079121 ISBN 13: 9780802079121

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 1999

Synopsis

Jacalyn Duffin's History of Medicine provides a brief survey of the history of Western medicine with reference to recent scholarly literature and current issues in health care. Organized conceptually around the major fields of medical endeavour - anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, surgery, obstetrics, psychiatry, pediatrics, and family medicine - this book is an accessible overview of medical history as a vibrant component of social, intellectual, and cultural history, and as a research discipline in its own right.

Each chapter begins in antiquity and ends in the twentieth century. Throughout, Duffin shows that alternative interpretations can be found for most elements of our past and that topics of interest can go well beyond 'great men' and 'great discoveries' to include ideas, diseases, patients, institutions, and great mistakes. This approach does not mean that the 'great men' (and women) are neglected; rather they appear in context. Medical disasters such as chloramphenicol and thalidomide, are covered along with the triumphs, and examples from Canada's past, largely ignored in other medical histories, are included. A chapter on methodology, suggestions for further reading with special attention to Canadian sources, and a careful index make it possible to research a specific event or historical debate, or to satisfy a more general curiosity.

By presenting the material in a structure that resonates with the broad outlines of medical training, and by focusing on the questions asked most often, this text is a relevant guide for students to the history of the profession they are about to embrace, and for those who would teach them, be they physicians or historians. Duffin's clear and entertaining prose and the many illustrations will help to demystify medicine for general readers and for students in other domains, such as history, philosophy, and sociology.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

'The facts she's unearthed are often fascinating and her prose is lively and accessible, guaranteeing interesting reading even for those on the receiving end of the stethoscope.'

'History of Medicine is a tour de force, a very personal, enthusiastic, frank approach by a teacher, clinician, and historian who has excelled at all three, and brings that excellence and excitement to the students through these pages.'

About the Author:

Jacalyn Duffin is a haematologist and historian who is Professor in the Hannah Chair of the History of Medicine at Queen's University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0802079121
• ISBN 13: 9780802079121
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384