A Brief History of Medicine
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Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in medicine, the history of science, or cultural history who seek a broad, accessible overview
- Medical students or practitioners wishing to reflect on the nature and boundaries of their profession from a historical perspective
- Readers in the humanities and social sciences who enjoy exploring how knowledge, technology, and society shape one another
- Readers who appreciate in-depth narrative and critical thinking and are not satisfied with mere lists of facts
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking a quick-reference guide that lays out major events in medicine along a clear timeline
- Readers hoping for a wealth of anecdotes or sensational historical stories
Reading tips
- Rather than reading at a uniform pace, start with the perspective chapter that interests you most (such as 'Disease' or 'Modern Therapeutics') and then move on to the others
- While reading, connect the material with current medical news or your own experience as a patient, and notice both the continuities and the breaks in history
- The book involves considerable conceptual analysis; taking notes will help clarify the evolution of medical thought
About the publisher
Jiangxi Science and Technology Publishing House has long taken the popularization of science and technology and the dissemination of practical knowledge as its main publishing focus. Its catalog shows titles across popular science, health, medicine and foreign literature. Representative works include Topology and Physics, associated with scholars such as Yang Zhenning, Ge Molin and He Yanghui, as well as Luo Dalun's family health titles including Life-Saving Prescriptions and the Huangdi Neijing series. The press also offers Fabre's Souvenirs Entomologiques in a complete illustrated translation and in individual volumes, presenting classic popular science in multiple forms. Its authors range from academic researchers to medical and health writers to classic science writers, reflecting a publishing profile that balances expertise and readability. As public information is limited, this summary of its publishing direction is based only on the titles in our catalog.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 一本“见不得人”的简介
- 第一章 简介：医学史中的英雄与反派
- 英雄与反派的游戏
- 第二章 组装起来的身体：解剖学史
- 古代解剖及其理念
- 中世纪时期关于身体的论述
- 艺术与文艺复兴时期的解剖学
- 维萨里与“构造”（人体的结构）
- 解剖学开始融入医学
- 现今的解剖学：基础科学还是欺辱仪式？
- 第三章 对生命的审问：生理学史
- 四个反复出现的主题
- 生理学史概览
- 机械论的出现
- 实证主义和实验生理学的兴起
- 20世纪的生理学
- 第四章 研究痛苦的科学：病理学史
- 病理学——一种医学知识体系
- 病理学的功能
- 疾病与病
- 病理学的历史概况
- 当今的医学模式及其问题
- 第五章 无损于患者为先：治疗史、药理学史与制药史
- 最新前沿
- 神秘主义、宗教和魔法：它们有用吗？
- 古希腊罗马疗法及药用植物学
- 金属的出现
- 药剂师和历史悠久的植物
- 药物分类和治疗学的变迁
- 灵丹妙药：抗生素、激素以及20世纪的乐观主义
- 临床试验
- 近来的怀疑主义：是否根本不存在灵丹妙药？
- 合理的衍生品
- 制药业
- 治疗创新的生命周期
- 第六章 成为医生并当好医生：教育、行医执照、薪资待遇与生命伦理学
- 医患契约
- 转瞬即逝的医学教育史
- 控制措施：行会、专业机构和行医执照
- 患者期望值：上升、下降、两难处境
- 付钱给医生：医疗保健系统
- 医生罢工
- 多少钱？多少个医生？
- 生命伦理学和姑息治疗的兴起
- 关于替代医学
- 回过来再谈谈医生
- 第七章 瘟疫与人类：历史上的流行病
- 雅典瘟疫（约公元前430年）：它是什么，它重要吗？
- 大灭绝或黑死病：腺鼠疫（起于1348年）
- 社会结构：定义与实例
- 流行病和数字医学：霍乱和斑疹伤寒
- 结核病的减少（和增加）：科学的胜利还是巧合？
- 流行性感冒与脊髓灰质炎：20世纪早期的大流行
- 艾滋病
- 新兴疾病
- 并不是所有的疾病都是新兴的：疟疾
- 第八章 血液有什么特别？对“生命”体液的观念变迁
- 神奇又神秘的血液
- 血液在医学中的应用
- 血液仍然是特别的
- 第九章 科技与疾病：听诊器、医院及其他小发明
- 发现的前提
- 发现：神话与“现实”
- 发明者的疑虑
- 该发现的影响
- 技术和技术垄断——更多小发明
- 医疗机器
- 生物技术
- 医生和患者之间的距离
- 第十章 “手”等大事：外科手术史
- 反复出现的主题
- 史前与古代手术
- 近代早期的手术
- 外科医学和内科医学的专业化
- 麻醉的出现
- 消毒与无菌操作
- 1870—1970年，外科乐观时期及该时期的英雄
- 日渐暗淡的乐观：少即是多？
- 第十一章 女人用的药和用药的女人：产科学史、妇科学史与女性史
- 女人的领域——分娩
- 产科医生视角中的女性用药
- 女权主义的看法：对传统医学观点的批判
- 第十二章 与恶魔的较量：精神病学史
- 精神病学史上的主题
- 20世纪的精神病学
- 反精神病学（Antipsychiatry）运动
- 心理治疗的矛盾状态
- 没有有效药物治疗的疾病
- 第十三章 没有婴儿就没有国家：儿科学史
- 所有的人都爱他们的孩子吗？儿童和童年的历史
- 古代的儿童保育与健康
- 阿拉伯、欧洲中世纪及文艺复兴时期的儿科学
- 启蒙：疾病与儿童死亡率的发现
- 儿童福利的曙光
- 医学技术发展
- 专家给家长的建议：布拉茨博士和斯波克博士
- 社会儿科学
- 儿科和更广阔的世界
- 第十四章 多面宝石：家庭医学的起起落落
- 全科医学史前史
- “我只是个全科医师”：对全科医学的威胁
- 全科医学的专业化
- “家庭医学”的出现
- 家庭医学研究：矛盾修饰法，凤凰涅槃还是心理安慰？
- 家庭医学对专科医生的影响
- 第十五章 当患者不止一个：公共卫生与国际卫生
- 瘟疫
- 贫困与工作
- 水
- 食物
- 政治
- 和平
- 环境
- 国际卫生
- 造成影响
- 第十六章 侦查与科学：如何研究医学史上出现过的问题
- 问题构建要清晰
- 识别资料来源
- 开始写吧
- 越界的诱惑
- 常见的问题以及如何避免它们
- 最后一句
- 附录：本书的学习目标
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About the author
Jacklyn Duffin is a writer on the history of medicine whose work has appeared in Chinese translation, with her signed book A Brief History of Medicine. Publicly available information about her nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and professional positions is limited, so a full outline of her life cannot yet be drawn. What is available suggests that her writing centers on medicine as a field, tracing its historical development and translating specialized material into a narrative accessible to general readers. A Brief History of Medicine belongs to the genre of popular general histories, which typically require authors to make careful choices about sources and to organize a coherent thread, covering key developments while keeping the narrative readable. For Chinese readers, such translated works offer an entry point into the Western medical tradition and show how medical knowledge has accumulated within societies and eras. Duffin's writing serves this aim: concise, well organized, and focused on the overall picture rather than detailed textual scholarship, making it suitable as introductory reading.
Li Bingqi is a young translator and a graduate of the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Her translation interests span popular science, literature, psychology and art, and her published translations include From One to Infinity, A Brief History of Medicine, The Secrets of Skincare: A Science-Based Skincare Guide for Everyone, Mechanical Cat Jinx and Acrylic Painting from Scratch. Judging from the four titles held in the collection, her work mainly serves popular science and practical knowledge: From One to Infinity offers a broad view of mathematics and science, Kitchen Laboratory: The Physical and Chemical Mysteries of Food approaches science through food, and the other titles touch on the history of medicine and the science of everyday skincare. These choices cross mathematics, chemistry, medicine and lifestyle, showing an approach that balances accuracy with readability. Public information about her life is limited, and readers chiefly come to know her work through these translations.
