Science and the Practice of Medicine in the Nineteenth Century [Paperback]

W. F. Bynum argues that 'modern' medicine is built upon foundations established between 1800 and the beginning of World War I.By examining the contributions of key individuals, this text shows how science played a vital role in transforming medical education and care, and how the profession ultimately benefited from the public visibility of medical science in the latter decades of the nineteenth century.By examining the contributions of key individuals, this text shows how science played a vital role in transforming medical education and care, and how the profession ultimately benefited from the public visibility of medical science in the latter decades of the nineteenth century.In this wide ranging survey, W.F. Bynum examines the parallel development of biomedical sciences (such as physiology, pathology, bacteriology and immunology) and of clinical practice and preventive medicine in nineteenth-century Europe and North America. By examining the contributions of key individuals, such as Louis Pasteur, R.T.H. Laennec, Claude Bernard, Edwin Chadwick, and Rudolf Virchow, and important institutions, Professor Bynum shows how science played a vital role in transforming medical education and medical care, and how the medical profession ultimately benefited from the public visibility of medical science in the latter decades of the nineteenth century. Historians, sociologists, and health professionals should find much of interest in this book.List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Medicine in 1790; 2. Medicine in the hospital; 3. Medicine in the community; 4. Medicine in the laboratory; 5. Science, disease, and practice; 6. Medical science goes public; 7. Doctors and patients; 8. Conclusion: did science matter?; Bibliographical essay; Sources of quotations; Index. ...a very fine and important book that will doubtless be judged as definitive. It is wonderfully written, well organized and witty, and rests on impeccable scholarship resulting from an exhaustive lc{