A History of Medicine in 50 Discoveries (History in 50)

Marguerite Vigliani · Gale Eaton · Phillip Hoose

Jun 2017 · History in 50 Book 0 · Tilbury House Publishers and Cadent Publishing

About this ebook

Vigliani and Eaton’s high-interest exploration of medicine begins in prehistory. The 5,000-year-old Iceman discovered frozen in the Alps may have treated his gallstones, Lyme disease, and hardening of the arteries with the 61 tattoos that covered his body—most of which matched acupuncture points—and the walnut-sized pieces of fungus he carried on his belt. The herbal medicines chamomile and yarrow have been found on 50,000-year-old teeth, and neatly bored holes in prehistoric skulls show that Neolithic surgeons relieved pressure on the brain (or attempted to release evil spirits) at least 10,000 years ago. From Mesopotamian pharmaceuticals and Ancient Greek sleep therapy through midwifery, amputation, bloodletting, Renaissance anatomy, bubonic plague, and cholera to the discovery of germs, X-rays, DNA-based treatments and modern prosthetics, the history of medicine is a wild ride through the history of humankind.

About the author

Marguerite Vigliani, MD (Barrington, RI) is Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology a tthe Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. She has been a private solo OB/GYN practitioner for the last 36 years in Rhode Island, where she lives with her family. She has authored a number of medical case reports and clinical opinions for peer-reviewed journals, and she has taught medical students, residents, and fellows in OB/GYN.

Gale Eaton has spent a lifetime with books for children and young adults, first as a children’s librarian at the Boston Public Library and the Berkshire Athenaeum, and later as a professor of children’s literature at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. She is the author of four other books.

Phillip Hoose is the widely acclaimed author of books, essays, stories, songs, and articles including the National Book Award - and Newbery Honor - winning book Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor winner The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club. A graduate of Indiana University and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Hoose was for 37 years a staff member of The Nature Conservancy, dedicated to preserving the plants, animals, and natural communities of the Earth.