Germ Theory (eBook)

List of Illustrations vii

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Special Note xv

Acknowledgments xvii

About the Author xix

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine 11

Chapter 3 Avicenna, a Thousand Years Ahead of His Time 29

Chapter 4 Girolamo Fracastoro and Contagion in Renaissance Medicine 41

Chapter 5 Antony van Leeuwenhoek and the Birth of Microscopy 57

Chapter 6 The Demise of the Humoral Theory of Medicine 71

Chapter 7 Edward Jenner and the Discovery of Vaccination 85

Chapter 8 Ignaz Semmelweis and the Control of Puerperal Sepsis 105

Chapter 9 Louis Pasteur and the Germ Theory of Disease 127

Chapter 10 Robert Koch and the Rise of Bacteriology 153

Chapter 11 Joseph Lister, the Man Who Made Surgery Safe 181

Chapter 12 Paul Ehrlich and the Magic Bullet 205

Chapter 13 Lillian Wald and the Foundations of Modern Public Health 229

Chapter 14 Alexander Fleming and the Discovery of Penicillin 243

Chapter 15 Françoise Barré- Sinoussi and the Discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus 273

Chapter 16 Barry Marshall and Helicobacter pylori in Peptic Ulcer Disease 295

Chapter 17 Anthony Fauci: America's Top Infectious Disease Doctor 315

Chapter 18 Conclusions 343

Index 351

From the 1st edition:

Gaynes (Emory Univ. School of Medicine) presents a well-researched, inspiring narrative of the most important discoveries in the history of medical science. He weaves the origins of the germ theory of disease and the biographies of those who made significant discoveries together into intriguing, informative stories. The author provides vivid accounts of individuals such as van Leeuwenhoek, Jenner, Pasteur, Fleming, et al. who challenged the prevailing views of the times with their innovation and persistence, and highlights the struggles they encountered in the long processes of discovery. The book's 15 chapters are well written, thorough, and engaging, providing readers with a significant appreciation for the interplay of social, economic, and cultural forces, as well as good luck, which allowed for medical breakthroughs. This is an insightful book that serves as an excellent resource for understanding developments in medical history, how they evolved, and the details of their impact on all people. The volume includes references at the end of each chapter and an easy to use index.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty and physicians; medical students; general readers.

CHOICE Current Reviews for Academic Libraries

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Health Sciences

Vol. 49 No. 11

Reviewer: D.C. Anderson, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Review Date: July 2012

Reprinted with permission from CHOICE http://www.cro2.org, copyright by the American Library Association