The Timetables of Medicine : An Illustrated Chronology of the History of Medicine from Prehistory to Present Times
Timetables of Medicine is a fascinating visual tour of medicine throughout the ages. Featuring ten parallel timetables that span from prehistoric times to the present day, this illustrated volume details everything from crude techniques of the Dark Ages to the stunning developments of modern medicine in a unique, easy-to-follow format.The key to Timetables of Medicine's accessibility is the presentation-discoveries, anecdotes and famous medical figures are displayed on an array of timelines. Each timeline focuses on a specific discipline and traces its development across thousands of years, allowing readers to compare advances at any point in history on a wide range of subjects like Public Health, Disease, Diagnosis, Treatments, Surgery and Inventions. A timeline of significant World Events outside of medicine puts these developments in a larger historical context. We see in one glance how, circa 1640, the Virginia Assembly passed laws regulating medical practices, Malaria arrived in Spain, the first book on First Aid was published in England, Descartes researched the optical lens in France and Portugal gained its independence. Hundreds of other entries trace medicine's development through the centuries, rendering history in a broad, continuous stroke that allows readers to survey every point on the medical spectrum for any given period.Along the way, the timetable reveals interesting facts about the spread of plagues, the development of surgery and anesthetics, and the medical pioneers who changed the course of history. In also examines how the growing knowledge of bacteria and infection have improved our understanding of the human body and how our attitudes to hygiene, childbirth, death and mental illness have changed dramatically as we've learned more about the causes of disease and illness.The timelines are illustrated with over 250 drawings and photographs that depict important events and individuals, and dozens of special features explore topics of particular interest in detail-from the growth of hospitals to the emergence of Chinese healing, from the Black Plague to Sigmund Freud.Feature chapters explore topics like The Story of Disease, The Development of the Pharmacy, Alternative Treatments, Women in Medicine and Medicine in the Future. Separate sections include a complete list of Noble Prize winners and their achievements, a country-by-country breakdown of medical history, a how-to for using the book and an extensive bibliography. A Factfinder helps locate particular discoveries, developments and individuals.Examining everything from herbs in early Mesopotamia to the Ebola virus in modern Africa, Timetables of Medicine is an innovative look at medical history with a blend of careful description and detailed illustrations that is at once comprehensive, entertaining and accessible.