David Cohen, contributor
Great Discoveries in Medicine shows that many of the treatments commonly used today were discovered in surprising ways
WALK into any modern hospital and you would be forgiven for thinking medicine is a precise science that can identify any disease you may be unfortunate enough to have, quantify it with whizz-bang technology based on a sound understanding of human physiology, and then treat it with a tried-and-tested pill or procedure that has run the rigours of a randomised controlled trial.
It can be surprising, then, to reflect on the many treatments and procedures performed by doctors today that have rather accidental and unscientific origins.
Take for example the caesarean section. Today, in some countries as many as 46 per cent of live births are by caesarean. And yet the first successful operation reported was not done by an obstetrician, but by the Swiss pig gelder Jacob Nufer. He performed the procedure on his wife in 1500 - without anaesthetic or antiseptics. Miraculously, the woman not only survived, but some reports suggest she went on to have five more children.
Another peculiar story is that of the compound digitalis, now commonly used to control some heart conditions. Extracted from the leaves of the foxglove plant, the medicinal value of digitalis was originally identified by William Withering in 1775. A botanist and prominent physician, Withering received reports that an old lady in the west of England was having unparalleled success in curing a mysterious condition that lead to swelling in the legs. Then called "dropsy", the ailment now known as oedema is characterised by fluid accumulation in between body tissue, and can be caused by heart failure. Withering determined that the active ingredient in the woman's tincture was digitalis. The compound is now marketed as the drug digoxin and has become the mainstay treatment for certain heart conditions.
These are just two of the entertaining stories among the 70 entries in this glossy compendium of seminal moments in the history of medicine. From the discovery of the origin of disease and advances in our understanding of human physiology, to the development of surgical procedures and other medical triumphs, this tome devotes just a few pages each to what the editors have deemed the key highlights.
It is a book the medical establishment will be proud of, touring through major breakthroughs that advanced the practice of medicine such as the development of X-ray imaging, the use of opium as an anaesthetic, the origin of the stethoscope and the identification of influenza. It also includes more modern discoveries such as HIV, medical robots and beta blockers.
While the book may sometimes err on the side of weightiness and occasionally verge on being dry - you probably wouldn't want to read more than a handful of entries at a time - it is still a potent reminder of just how far we have come in recent years. A wonderful addition to any armchair medical historian's coffee table.
Book Information
Great Discoveries in Medicine
by William and Helen Bynum
Published by: Thames & Hudson
?24.95/$45
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