Discover the fascinating history of medicine from its primitive beginnings to the lifesaving technologies of today.
Award-winning author Dr Carol Cooper takes you on a journey through the 12 objects that have come to define medicine through the ages – from the barbaric and bizarre to the inventive and impressive, this captivating read is peppered with fascinating anecdotes.
In this unique history, you will discover how ill health has been with us for as long as humans have existed, as has the drive to treat and understand it. Over the course of centuries, the ways in which doctors have engaged with sickness has changed drastically, and so too have the tools at their disposal.
And as these tools have morphed and evolved, our knowledge of health and disease has expanded. Medical theories have slowly advanced, allowing people to live longer and healthier lives.
The 12 groundbreaking tools explored in this collection include:
THE TREPHINE
THE BONE SAW
THE MASK
THE MICROSCOPE
THE STETHOSCOPE
THE ETHER INHALER
THE HYPODERMIC SYRINGE
THE OBSTETRIC FORCEPS
THE X -RAY MACHINE
THE ECT MACHINE
THE HIP PROSTHESIS
THE HEART-LUNG MACHINE
The history of these medical tools is truly astounding, revealing the true extent of human ingenuity, curiosity, and compassion. This is a book for anyone interested in medical history or looking for a fresh and dynamic take on their specialist subject. With her immense knowledge and engaging writing style, Dr Cooper delivers a history that is not for the faint of heart.
My thoughts: This was an absolutely fascinating read, complete with gross moments, funny ones and bizarre experiments (why were scientists so keen to experiment on themselves?) that covers the long expanse of medical history and the development of some of the most important medical devices.
When you’re sick you don’t really think about the ingenuity and endless work that went into designing and creating the tools doctors use to diagnose and treat you. When you’re lying in an MRI machine, all you’re thinking about is the noise, the claustrophobia and how hot you are (or is that just me?) You’re not thinking of the scientists, doctors and early patients who all contributed to that machine existing.
With a very readable style that neither talks down to the reader or requires you to stop and look up every other word, this is an engaging and interesting read, about things that we might take for granted these days (stethoscopes, hypodermic syringes, x-rays) but were brand new science at one point, created and refined by brilliant minds, sometimes accidentally, at other times with a definite need.
There were some things I’d read before, and some that were completely new to me, and Dr Cooper includes the women and people of colour who were often conveniently left out of the narrative when it came to naming devices or winning awards for their discoveries. She’s also pretty funny on the rivalries and sometimes gruesome history of medicine.
I think I might get a copy for my friend who’s a cardiologist, I think he’d really it.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 