Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Doctors: The Biography of Medicine

1988; American Medical Association; Volume: 260; Issue: 18 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1001/jama.1988.03410180143048

1538-3598

Lester S. King,

Medical History and Innovations

The unsophisticated reader who wants a nodding acquaintance with some of the important figures in medical history will, in this book, undoubtedly find what he seeks. The author, trying to cover medical history in a biographical format, has given us 17 chapters of uneven quality. The book begins with long chapters on Hippocrates and Galen, which offer little more than a dutiful obeisance, although extremely long-winded. As a surgeon Nuland has weighted his further presentations heavily toward surgery and associated disciplines, such as anatomy, pathology, anesthesia, and various aspects of infection and germ theory. Chapters on Harvey and on Laennec cover certain aspects of basic physiology and clinical progress. This material has been extensively covered by well-known historians, the secondary source material is vast, and Nuland does not offer any new insights. Much better is his coverage of more recent events and figures that have not received as much attention.