Doctors: The History of Scientific Medicine Revealed Through Biography

“They smelt and tasted the urine, they tasted the earwax and sweat for any sign that these humors were out of balance,” says Professor Sherwin B. Nuland, Yale School of Medicine, commenting on state-of-the-art medicine in Greece, circa 300 B.C. Barbaric? Actually, this was a step forward, as the Hippocratic physicians (who upheld the oath “first, do no harm”) were ahead of their bedside forefathers in the realization that “illness cannot be treated by appealing to the deities.” Featuring 12 half-hour lectures, Doctors: The History of Scientific Medicine Revealed Through Biography—one of the newest entries from The Teaching Company's excellent "Great Courses" lecture series'—finds scholar/author Nuland (How We Die) taking viewers on an enlightening (and occasionally stomach-churning) tour of the history of scientific medicine through the lives and works of some of its most famous figures, including Andreas Vesalius (who wrote and illustrated the first comprehensive textbook of anatomy), William Harvey (who first comprehended the circulation of the blood), Rene Laennec (inventor of the stethoscope), William Thomas Green Morton (who pioneered the use of anesthesia—thank you Bill!), Joseph Lister (founder of antiseptic medicine—although not of Listerine), and Helen B. Taussig (who played an instrumental role in the first cardiac surgery), among others. Nuland is a knowledgeable and often amusing presenter whose narrative gifts help raise this series of lectures far above most pedantic presentations. Packaged with a course book containing the full transcript, overview, outline, glossary, suggested bibliography, and more, this is sure to be a welcome addition for high school and academic libraries (to supplement their own regular or distance ed courses, or for students wishing to explore topics not offered by their local institution), as well as a solid choice for public libraries serving adult learners. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)