Medical Marvels: The 100 Greatest Advances in Medicine

By Eugene W. Straus, Alex Straus, Alex R. Straus

Medical Marvels is an introduction to some of the ideas, people, and accomplishments that have influenced the development of healing. While it examines and celebrates human ingenuity's most hallowed ground, it is not a history per se of medicine - it is equally concerned with our current climate, and it is a call to thought and action.Meet the people who continue to make a telling difference to the human condition - people like Hippocrates, Galen, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Gregor Mendel, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Louis Pasteur, Florence Nightingale, Oswald Theodore Avery, Harold Varmus, and Rosalyn S. Yalow. Discover what drove them and marvel at the brilliance of their contributions.Encounter great ideas - including the doctor-patient relationship, the germ theory of disease, vaccination, immunology, genetics, preventive medicine, stem cells, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and treatment - and learn about the art, science, and significance of these ideas.Within the context of discovery and compassion at the heart of every medical advance, Medical Marvels considers the powerful forces controlling both the science and distribution of healthcare. By reading this absorbing and important book, everyone interested in good healthcare will gain a new appreciation for the achievements, the roadblocks that have been overcome and those still looming, as well as the great promise medicine holds for the future.Healthcare is among the most significant issues of our time, and it will be more so in the future. If you want a powerful and accurate lens to understand the history of medicine as well as the societal and scientific challenges it is facing now and in the future - then Medical Marvels is for you.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591023734
• ISBN13: 9781591023739
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 425 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A different way to explore medical history

This history of the 100 most important medical advances was fascinating and very enjoyable. I'm a physician, and I've bought copies to leave in my exam rooms with very positive response from patients. A different approach- I wouldn't have thought to have written the first chapter but after reading the arguments, I'm convinced of number one. The others will intrigue you, remind the reader of a lot and teach as well. A very enjoyable read. Can be picked up and put down quickly, because the chapters are only 1-2 pages long on average.

A fine survey of the history of medicine

A doctor and a journalist team up to provide a fine survey of the history of medicine, highlighting over a hundred greatest medical advances and emphasizing how committed individuals made advancements happen. There are many names you may not recognize here; from Galen who related the structure of organs to functions to Gertrude Elion's discovery of treatments for leukemia. Were it not for their efforts, we wouldn't have today's medical achievements: MEDICAL MARVELS personalizes the commitment of individuals in an era when medicine is seen as a series of technological breakthroughs alone. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Science with a Heart

Beautifully written, Medical Marvels is more than a thought provoking compendium of important medical advances. It is a commentary on the greatest medical discovery of all, the art of HEALING. The authors' subtext is that healing is at risk of becoming a lost art in our modern medical maze of health care where doctors are reduced to "providers" and those in need of healing.. the patients... are reduced to the status of "customers". Dr. Srauss's deep regard for both the science and the humanity at the heart of medicine is what makes this book shine.