A Short History of Medicine

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Informative, Easy to Read
Review: This is a very interesting and informative history of medicine--concise, sequential, and easy to read. Ackerknecht starts with the diseases found in early life forms, then reptiles, mammals, and primitive man. He then goes into early civilizations, such as Egyptian and Babylonian, making the point that early medicine had a supernatural basis as it was believed spirits caused disease and such things as magical incantations by medicine men cured them.
The advent of ancient Greek medicine brought a more rational, scientific approach as the body was thought to consist of 4 humors and disease caused by imbalance. Hippocrates, the most prominent physician of the time, was known for his objective observations and high ethical standards.
With the Middle Ages medicine fell into the hands of the clergy and once again returned to the idea of evil spirits causing disease and saints and religious rites curing them.
The Renaissance saw the breakthrough of a return to scientific, rational thought and major discoveries followed, such as Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood, which led to many other important new knowledges.
As the book nears its end, Ackerknecht discusses the influence of clinical schools, the great strides made by microbiology, as well as the gains made in surgery.
When he concludes with the trends of the twentieth century, the reader has a new appreciation of how far we have come from the beginnings of medicine, and how valiant a struggle man has waged against the diseases which have always plagued him.
Comprehensive, yet not overly technical, this book is for the layman as well as the medical student.