A History of Medicine Edited by Lester S. King (review)

Abstract

denying to himself the benefits of hindsight. Our misguided predecessors are dren seen to have been no less smart than we are; this is a lesson in humility which is grossly deficient in many of us. The history of the studies of the causes of evolution contains many zigzags and blind alleys, and this makes it particularly interesting and instructive. Provine's book is a good guide. Theodosius Dobzhansky Department of Genetics University of California, Davis A History of Medicine. Edited by Lester S. King. History of Science Readings. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1971. Pp. 316. $5.75. This is a well-selected collection of readings. Part 1, "The Classical Heritage," includes "Airs, Waters, Places" and "The Sacred Disease" by Hippocrates and "On the Natural Faculties" by Galen. Part 2, "Revolt," includes "De Corporis Fabrica (1543)" by Vesalius, "Volumen Medicinae Paramirum (?1529)" by Paracelsus, and "Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals" by William Harvey. Part 3, "Development," is made up of eleven classical papers from 1676 to 1849. Part 4, "Fruition," consists of papers by Virchow, Claude Bernard, Robert Koch, Walter Reed, Banting and Best, and Simon and Harley. The scholarly introduction and sketches by the editor set the perspectives of the readings. Dwight J. Ingle University of Chicago 646 I Book Reviews ...