A Brief History of Medicine
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Summary
From Ötzi the Iceman treating a whipworm infection with fungi more than 3,000 years BCE, humans have never ceased fighting disease and death. The book selects 50 representative medical events, some famous legends and others little-known stories, each of which profoundly changed humanity's fate.
The author weaves concise stories, abundant rare photographs and exquisite paintings into a vivid historical panorama, letting readers survey the "highlights" of more than 5,000 years of medical history in a very short time and feel the fragility and greatness of life.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in medicine and the history of science but lacking specialized background
- Humanities enthusiasts who wish to broaden their knowledge and learn about humanity's fight against disease
- Medical students or newcomers to the healthcare industry seeking a macro historical perspective
- Readers who enjoy clearly structured, fluently written popular science
Not a good fit for
- Researchers of medical history seeking detailed professional sources or in-depth academic analysis
- Readers expecting a focus on the details of modern medical technology
Reading tips
- Read alongside more specialized works of medical history or biographies to deepen understanding.
- Consider current public health events while reading; a historical perspective often brings new insight.
- Chapters are relatively independent and can be read out of interest, though reading in order helps grasp the overall logic of evolution.
About the publisher
Hainan Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for literary and intellectual works, covering foreign literature, philosophy, classics, world-famous works, classical poetry and prose miscellanies. Its catalog includes foreign literary classics such as Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Romain Rolland's Jean-Christophe, philosophical works such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract: Expert Companion Edition, and Chinese classics and poetic studies such as Lu Xun's essays and prose collections and Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, as well as illustrated popular-science works like Fabre's Insects. The involvement of translators such as Zhong Shufeng, Fu Lei and Chen Xiaoqing reflects the publisher's emphasis on translation quality and expert guidance. Public information is limited, and the above is based mainly on the books in the catalog.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 编者序 生死攸关——50种发现里的医学史
- 引言 拯救生命的“发现”
- 1 新石器时代 一起凶杀案的法医学分析
- 2 远古时代 魔法和民间疗法
- 3 公元前1570年 古埃及木乃伊与外科医生
- 4 公元前700年 用按摩驱除恶魔和压力
- 5 公元前170年 阿斯克勒庇俄斯神庙的睡眠疗法
- 6 公元200年 盖仑发现神经和体液
- 7 公元900年 中世纪的拉齐与循证医学
- 8 公元1508年 达·芬奇留下的心脏谜题
- 9 公元1600年 男助产士家族的秘密
- 10 公元1670年 通过列文虎克的微型显微镜看世界
- 11 公元1721年 抗击天花
- 12 公元1747年 “酸橙佬”与治愈坏血病
- 13 公元1776年 充血性心力衰竭的民间疗法
- 14 公元1799年 “英勇”的放血疗法与水蛭热潮
- 15 公元1816年 勒内·雷奈克与听诊器
- 16 公元1828年 切除结石的漫长过程
- 17 公元1846年 笑气——让手术不再可怕
- 18 公元1847年 洗手就能降低死亡率
- 19 公元1848年 怪物汤——公共卫生是头等大事
- 20 公元1854年 霍乱与流行病学
- 21 公元1867年 孟德尔与遗传性状
- 22 公元1870年 古代的颅骨外科手术
- 23 公元1881年 自然发生说与细菌致病理论
- 24 公元1882年 从瘴气中出现的结核病
- 25 公元1894年 一桶蛇与一种抗毒素
- 26 公元1896年 X射线的发现
- 27 公元1898年 与鼠疫的生死战斗
- 28 公元1898年 病毒从烟叶和人类身上获取生命支持
- 29 公元1900年 玛丽·居里的实验室在黑暗中发光
- 30 公元1901年 输血安全
- 31 公元1905年 激素与内分泌学
- 32 公元1907年 “伤寒玛丽”——最臭名昭著的厨师
- 33 公元1909年 埃利希的“灵丹妙药”与化疗
- 34 公元1922年 控制糖尿病病情
- 35 公元1929年 弗莱明的脏培养皿带来了青霉素
- 36 公元1930年 医学史上最残忍的错误
- 37 公元1939—1955年 挽救了美国总统生命的老鼠药
- 38 公元1944年 发现DNA
- 39 公元1945年 污水里的神奇药物
- 40 公元1945年 用香肠肠衣、洗衣机和果汁罐拯救生命
- 41 公元1951年 弗兰肯斯坦与心脏仪器
- 42 公元1967年 布隆伯格与第一种癌症预防疫苗
- 43 公元1967年 首例心脏移植手术
- 44 公元1972年 来自古代中医的抗疟药物
- 45 公元1978年 世界上第一个试管婴儿
- 46 公元1983年 癌症的一级预防与二级预防
- 47 公元1998年 MMR疫苗与自闭症——发现与学术欺诈
- 48 公元2011年 人体仿生部件
- 49 公元2013年 粪便微生物疗法的应用
- 50 公元2016年 小头畸形与寨卡病毒
- 后记 弥合传统治疗和生物科学之间的鸿沟
- 诺贝尔生理学或医学奖年表（1901—2021年）
- 关于作者
- 关于本系列书籍编辑
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About the author
Margaret Vigliani is an author about whom little public information is currently available; only one work by her is included in the collection, A Brief History of Medicine. Judging from the title and its common classification, the book is a history title aimed at general readers who wish to understand the development of medicine in a concise way. Writing the history of medicine usually involves a long time span and a dense array of figures, discoveries and institutional changes, so the word “brief” suggests that the author may adopt a simplified approach, linking events along a clear thread and sketching the evolution of medicine from ancient experience to modern science in relatively few pages. The value of such a work lies in lowering the barrier to entry, allowing non-specialist readers to grasp the key turning points and overall direction of medical history. Since reliable information about Vigliani's life, nationality and education is lacking, no speculation is made here; readers may regard her as an author oriented toward popularizing knowledge of medical history, while her style and influence await further works and sources for confirmation.
Gail Eaton is an author about whom limited public information is available; the library currently holds only one work by her, A Brief History of Medicine. Based on the available information, the book is classified as a history title, indicating that the author writes on the history of medicine and presents the development of the field to general readers. The word "brief" in the title suggests a concise style that covers key moments and the overall thread in a compact form, lowering the barrier for non-specialists and helping them quickly grasp the background and general outline of medical history. As her dates of birth and death, nationality, and English name are unknown, this introduction makes no inferences and focuses only on the subject matter and writing approach indicated by the work and its category.
Sun Yifei is a Chinese popular-science writer whose work centers on medicine and biology. Publicly available information about him is limited, and no systematic account of his life has yet appeared. Three of his books are currently included in the collection: Light Shining into the Corner: Medicine from Ancient Times to the Middle Ages, The Marvelous Biology (The Spiral Ladder of Life), and A Very Short History of Medicine. Their subjects span the history of medicine, general biology, and the narrative of science history, and they are commonly classified under medicine, popular science, and history reading. These works suggest that he prefers to present specialized knowledge within a historical framework, tracing the development of medicine and the life sciences along a timeline so that readers can understand how concepts arose in their specific contexts. His writing balances informative content with readability and is aimed at general readers, seeking to build a bridge between professional material and public reading.
Shen Zhourong is an author about whom little public information is currently available; the name appears as the author of the history title A Minimal History of Medicine. Judging from this work, Shen Zhourong attends to the overall arc of medical development, seeking to trace the long course of this specialized field in a concise manner and present it to general readers. A Minimal History of Medicine is classified as a history title, suggesting an approach aimed at popularizing knowledge rather than scholarly monograph, with clear and accessible language and a structure that emphasizes coherent threads and selective focus. The history of medicine involves people, discoveries, institutions, and technologies, and deciding what to include and how to connect it within limited space tests the author's command of the material and reflects a awareness of writing for a broad audience. Since only this one work is held in the collection, the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, and other writings cannot be confirmed and are therefore not discussed here. Readers interested in learning more may consult the text of A Minimal History of Medicine and related publication information.
