Against the backdrop of unprecedented concern for the future of health care, this Very Short Introduction surveys the history of medicine from classical times to the present. Focussing on the key turning points in the history of Western medicine, such as the advent of hospitals and the rise of experimental medicine, Bill Bynum offers insights into medicine`s past, while at the same time engaging with contemporary issues, discoveries, and controversies.

Table of Contents:
Preface
1: Bedside Medicine
2: Library Medicine
3: Hospital Medicine
4: Social Medicine
5: Laboratory Medicine
6: Technological Medicine
References and Further Reading

Author Information:
William Bynum, Professor Emeritus of the History of Medicine at University College, London