Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Exploring the History of Medicine by John Hudson Tiner



book cover

Exploring the History of Medicine:
From the Ancient Physicians of Pharaoh to Genetic Engineering
by John Hudson Tiner


ISBN-13: 9780890512487
Paperback: 165 pages
Publisher: Master Books
Released: 2007


Source: Bought from local Christian book store.

Book Description from Goodreads (modified):
Exploring the History of Medicine takes a look at medical practices from the ancient past to the present and includes biographical sketches of famous persons of medicine. It also has study questions at the end of each chapter and dozens of illustrations. This book gives middle-school through junior-high students a strong introduction into the study of medicine.


My Review:
Exploring the History of Medicine provides an overview of advances in medicine from ancient to modern times in the context of the people who discovered key medical advances. It's easy to read and understand and the few technical terms were defined in the text. There were also interesting black and white pictures and illustrations. At the end of each chapter, there were 8-17 questions that tested if you learned the important points in the chapter. The answer key was in the back. The book is suitable for middle schoolers on up.

The author mentioned it when the scientist or doctor being discussed was a Christian. Overall, the book was interesting and well-written. I'd highly recommend it to those interested in gaining a basic overview of advances made in medicine throughout history.


Chapter 1 talked about ancient physicians (Imhotep, Hippocrates, Galen) and what they contributed to medical knowledge. Chapter 2 talked about what Galen got wrong and how that affected medicine in the Middle Ages and beyond. Chapter 3 talked about advances in knowledge about human anatomy by Andreas Vesalius. Chapter 4 talked about the father of modern surgery, Ambroise Pare. Chapter 5 talked about the discoveries about blood circulation made by William Harvey and David Fabricius.

Chapter 6 talked about microscopes and the discoveries Antoni van Leeuwenhoek made using them. Chapter 7 talked about small pox and Edward Jenner. Chapter 8 talked about advances in surgical pain killers made by Humphry Davy and by James Young Simpson. Chapter 9 talked about advances in surgical pain killers made by William Morton. Chapter 10 talked about the discoveries about the spread of diseases made by Ignaz Semmelweiss.

Chapter 11 talked about discoveries made by Louis Pasteur. Chapter 12 talked about Joseph Lister and antiseptic surgery. Chapter 13 talked about Robert Koch and the germ theory of disease. Chapter 14 talked about Louis Pasteur and advances in vaccine development. Chapter 15 talked about James Lind and the cure for scurvy. Chapter 16 talked about Christiaan Eijkman finding a cure for beriberi and Jean Boussingault finding a cure for goiter.

Chapter 17 talked about William Crookes' discovery of cathode rays and Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of x-rays. Chapter 18 talked about Henri Becquerel and Pierre and Marie Curie and the discovery of radioactive elements. Chapter 19 talked about Gerhard Domagk's discovery of sulfa drugs. Chapter 20 talked about the discovery of penicillin and Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey, and Ernst Chain. Chapter 21 talked about Charles Drew and blood transfusions, Christiaan Barnard and organ transplants, Willem Kolff and the artificial kidney, James Watson and Francis Crick and DNA.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt:
Read the table of contents and three pages of chapter one.

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