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As part of the "History in 50" series, which weaves together discrete historical events, this work focuses on the evolution of medicine and healing modalities since the dawn of humankind. The intriguing story begins with the excavation of the 5,000 B.C. Neolithic man, given the name "Otzi the Iceman," who was found with animal skins containing healing medicinal fungi and tattoos on his body that corresponded with specific acupuncture points. The time-traveling thread continues to the Greek islands of Epidauros around 170 BC to the site of the Asklepieion, the temple of healing. Here, patients were encouraged to engage in sleep therapy while the legendary god worked to cure their ailments. Like building blocks through time, the discoveries of innovators such as Florence Nightingale, Joseph Lister, Paul Ehrlich, James Watson and Francis Crick, and Christian Bernard are thoroughly presented. The book even discusses the present-day public health battle against the Zika virus. The narrative is easy to follow and may appeal to young adults, undergraduates and pre-med students, and general readers.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Hutchinson's text on the dissemination and treatment of disease among Colonial and Indigenous populations in the New World is a smorgasbord of history, anthropology, economics, ecology, geography, and art history. This comprehensive work examines how disease affected populations in the Old and New Worlds from 1500 through 1850 CE, with a particular emphasis on disease transmission in Colonial Atlantic America and poverty's role in this transmission. A summary time line with key events helps provide contemporary anchors to the dense text, as does the use of relevant illustrations and maps. The content is organized well with copious notes drawn from primary and secondary sources. The notes themselves are invaluable, as they contain supplementary materials that buttress Hutchinson's arguments and tangential information for consideration. In fact, the notes are an academic rabbit hole, in which one tends to wander recklessly but not aimlessly, occasionally emerging with a transformative interpretation on an accepted premise. Hutchinson (anthropology, Univ. of North Carolina) is true to his intent to tell the rest of a story in which "disease, the actual outcome of infection, is only a small part...." This work is highly recommended for all history collections.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; researchers and general readers.

Hurlbut (Arizona State Univ.) presents a methodical historical description of the controversial bioethical issues that bring science, religion, and politics into an emotional debate. In vitro fertilization, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and gene manipulation have created disputes throughout their experimentation and application. Pro-life advocates object to the use of embryos for research and the use of stem cells for medical treatment. Gene editing raises the possibility of eugenics, where desired characteristics can be modified into a gene. The government worries about regulations needed to ensure ethical application of these innovations. Hurlbut's historical review interestingly reveals that as early as 1923, there was speculation that eggs could be harvested from cadavers and babies grown in artificial wombs. This served as inspiration for segments of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Similar imaginative scenarios were conjured after the 1978 birth of the world's first test-tube baby and the 1997 announcement that Dolly the sheep was a clone. As the scientific research progresses, the polemics surrounding these matters will continue. Overall, Hurlbut's book is a fascinating and necessary review of the multifaceted issues cultivated by these revolutionary breakthroughs.Summing Up: Essential. All readers.

Milosavljevic (a lawyer, physician, and a practitioner of complementary and alternative medicine) presents a self-help book of holistic health geared towards the mental health needs of adolescents utilizing intervention strategies and techniques based on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), integrating Eastern and Western paradigms in medicine (including traditional Chinese medicine--acupuncture and acupressure), yogic positions, herbal teas, and targeted sensory stimulation designed to facilitate calmness and reduce heightened stress and anxiety. The text has highly detailed illustrations of yoga positions and acupuncture and acupressure points, with provided rationales. Specific teas are recommended to reduce generalized stress and anxiety. Case studies of Milosavljevic's adolescents at her Harvard-based clinical program are profiled to highlight the specific environmental and familial stressors germane to teenagers, often from low socioeconomic backgrounds in the Boston area. The self-reported improvements, as a consequence of individualized structured CAM intervention designed by the author, are noteworthy for enhancing the quality of life through regular daily exercises done for a few minutes at home or alone in a school setting. The narrative flows easily, and meticulous instructions are easy to follow.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.

Stereoscopy is another scientific tool available "as visual aids to the study of anatomy with no artistic aspirations." However, it is hard to find how widely this tool is used. This volume contains photographs of 118 anatomical samples (each a double stereo image) to be viewed with a provided stereo viewer. Most of the photographed samples are from the Vrolik Museum in Amsterdam. Willem Vrolik (1801-63) started this collection with his father, and throughout the years, the collection has grown to number over 5,000 specimens. It is a classic collection, not only because of its age, but also because of the range of specimens and the careful dissection of the samples. The work's two opening chapters, "Anatomical Collections: The Dead Teach the Living" and "A Few Words About Stereoscopy," provide a most useful background. Naughten, the author listed on the book's cover, is identified in the book only by a list of his exhibitions. One has to use the internet to discover that he is the photographer of the images--his specialty is stereo photography. This work is strongly recommended as an overview of anatomical stereoscopy.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.

The epistemology of medicine is a field of growing interest and importance. These 14 original essays explore the relationship between knowledge and action in medical practice, research, and policy. The collection identifies important challenges to the currently dominant paradigm, which holds up randomized clinical trials and evidence-based medicine as the gold standard for evaluating medical knowledge and practice. Essays examine such issues as the role that intuition and individual experience play in understanding and evaluating clinical reasoning, the proper role of humility in epistemic judgment, and how patients and the public understand and can contribute to medical knowledge. Although predominantly from the US, the contributors have a diverse range of national backgrounds (UK, Canada, France, Australia, Netherlands). Editor Bluhm (Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State Univ.) and most of the contributors are philosophers, but psychiatry, nursing, and medicine are also included. Clearly written and well presented, this volume makes a significant contribution to the field of medical epistemology. The rather meager index is of limited assistance, but each essay includes a valuable list of references for further research.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

In the preface to his book, Mushlin (Harvard Medical School) calls himself "a privileged witness to the human condition." The author provides insightful narratives of real patient cases that he has encountered in more than 40 years as a physician. These are not dull, clinical scenarios. Mushlin's vivid flair for words brings out the human side of patients suffering from puzzling, rarely seen conditions and, in some cases, life-threatening illnesses. These stories range from touching, mildly humorous, and disturbing to downright strange. Each case reads like a detective story as Mushlin recounts the diagnostic steps involved in the clinical decision-making process. The overarching message is that medical school and residency cannot always prepare physicians for what they might encounter. He also reflects on lessons learned from the variety of health care providers he has worked with over the years. This book will provide a rewarding reading experience to medical students, residents, practicing physicians, and laypeople. Diseases, conditions, and physiological processes are explained in an understandable manner for general readers. The book also holds great value as a teaching tool for medical educators.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

In The Smile Stealers, Barnett (Univ. of Cambridge, UK) presents a stunning visual history of dentistry. This is the third volume of his medical history series for the Wellcome Collection. The first two volumes, The Sick Rose (2014) and Crucial Interventions (CH, Apr'16, 53-3530), received awards and acclaim from historians, journalists, and designers for their careful research and pleasing aesthetic layout; this series volume is no exception. Barnett traces the social and cultural history of dentistry from the "heroic extraction" in the medieval period to "preventative dentistry" in the 21st century through images of dentistry: artifacts, political cartoons, paintings, advertisements, and medical imaging. Though Barnett includes a broadly written history of dentistry through the ages, the strength of the book is the design and presentation of the art and imagery. The volume's aim is to summarize rather than advance academic research in medical history. This book will appeal to all readers with an interest in history, medicine, and art and design.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.