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Historia współczesnej medycyny. Renesans, wynalezienie chirurgii i rewolucja implantów
LEKTURA OBOWIĄZKOWA dla wszystkich, którzy chcą zrozumieć, CZYM BYŁA, JEST I MOŻE SIĘ STAĆ MEDYCYNA.
Jakich niezwykłych odkryć dokonano w Wolsztynie pod Poznaniem?
Kto był pierwowzorem głównego bohatera serialu The Knick?
W jaki sposób medycyna ocaliła rozgrywki futbolu amerykańskiego?
Jaka przyszłość czeka medycynę w dobie sztucznej inteligencji?
Doktor David Schneider – jeden z najlepszych chirurgów barku i łokcia na świecie – odkrywa przed czytelnikami niezwykłą historię medycyny i jej związki z nauką, filozofią i polityką. W fascynujący sposób przedstawia kolejne punkty przełomowe: pierwsze badania anatomiczne, wynalezienie chirurgii, narodziny antyseptyki i anestezji, odkrycie antybiotyków czy skonstruowanie rozrusznika serca. Opowiada też fascynujące losy tych, którzy doprowadzili do tych przełomów – Johna Huntera, Josepha Listera, Roberta Kocha, Williama Halsteda czy Earla Bakkena. Schneider nie tylko ukazuje barwne życiorysy i niezwykłe odkrycia, ale też zadaje ważne pytania o przyszłość medycyny.
Przez 295 pokoleń człowiek, który zachorował, musiał polegać przede wszystkim na sobie. Dopiero od pięciu pokoleń możemy liczyć na prawdziwą pomoc ze strony lekarzy. Ta książka opowiada historię ludzi, którzy stworzyli współczesną medycynę.
Jakich niezwykłych odkryć dokonano w Wolsztynie pod Poznaniem?
Kto był pierwowzorem głównego bohatera serialu The Knick?
W jaki sposób medycyna ocaliła rozgrywki futbolu amerykańskiego?
Jaka przyszłość czeka medycynę w dobie sztucznej inteligencji?
Doktor David Schneider – jeden z najlepszych chirurgów barku i łokcia na świecie – odkrywa przed czytelnikami niezwykłą historię medycyny i jej związki z nauką, filozofią i polityką. W fascynujący sposób przedstawia kolejne punkty przełomowe: pierwsze badania anatomiczne, wynalezienie chirurgii, narodziny antyseptyki i anestezji, odkrycie antybiotyków czy skonstruowanie rozrusznika serca. Opowiada też fascynujące losy tych, którzy doprowadzili do tych przełomów – Johna Huntera, Josepha Listera, Roberta Kocha, Williama Halsteda czy Earla Bakkena. Schneider nie tylko ukazuje barwne życiorysy i niezwykłe odkrycia, ale też zadaje ważne pytania o przyszłość medycyny.
Przez 295 pokoleń człowiek, który zachorował, musiał polegać przede wszystkim na sobie. Dopiero od pięciu pokoleń możemy liczyć na prawdziwą pomoc ze strony lekarzy. Ta książka opowiada historię ludzi, którzy stworzyli współczesną medycynę.
592 pages, Hardcover
Published November 8, 2021
149 people are currently reading
1351 people want to read
About the author
David Schneider
17 books21 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Born in 1951 in Louisville, Kentucky, Tensho David Schneider was the first child of Marc, a Jew and engineer and Georgia, his southern Baptist sociologist mother. David rapidly acquired three sisters, the rudiments of a standard boomer education, and a bi-religious, Southern upbringing, involving. Saturday School and Sunday School. He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA .
He began to practice Zen meditation with a local group at Reed College, in Portland, OR and attended sesshins with Joshu Sasaki Roshi in 1970 and 71. In January, 1971, he met Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and he says, that did it. In April of the same year, he saw Suzuki Roshi and Trungpa Rinpoche together at the San Francisco Zen Center, and that really did it
David dropped out of Reed College to move into Zen Center. He took up studies under Richard Baker Roshi, and in 1977, he received ordination as unsui or “cloud-water person.” He did many academic and practical jobs as part of community life there, which ran from 1972-85. The 1983 scandal at SF Zen Center led to the departure of Baker Roshi. In 1984, in the formal shuso ceremony, David was ordained as a head monk at the Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco.
In 1985 David was formally accepted by Trungpa Rinpoche as a student. He attended Vajradhatu Seminary in 1986 and staffed Seminary again in 1988.
David wrote Street Zen, a biography of Issan Dorsey, published in 1993 by Shambhala Publications, and again in 2000 by Marlowe. Street Zen won several prizes, included “Best Buddhist Book of the Year” in 1993. In 1994 he co-edited with Kazuaki Tanahashi a collection of zen stories, titled Essential Zen.
In 1995, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed David Director of Shambhala Europe by, a position he held until 2003. David now works for Vajradhatu Publications Europe; he continues as well to pursue writing projects – currently, a biography of Beat poet and zen master Zenshin Philip Whalen – as well as calligraphy exhibitions. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed David to the post of acharya in 1996.
Born in 1951 in Louisville, Kentucky, Tensho David Schneider was the first child of Marc, a Jew and engineer and Georgia, his southern Baptist sociologist mother. David rapidly acquired three sisters, the rudiments of a standard boomer education, and a bi-religious, Southern upbringing, involving. Saturday School and Sunday School. He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA .
He began to practice Zen meditation with a local group at Reed College, in Portland, OR and attended sesshins with Joshu Sasaki Roshi in 1970 and 71. In January, 1971, he met Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and he says, that did it. In April of the same year, he saw Suzuki Roshi and Trungpa Rinpoche together at the San Francisco Zen Center, and that really did it
David dropped out of Reed College to move into Zen Center. He took up studies under Richard Baker Roshi, and in 1977, he received ordination as unsui or “cloud-water person.” He did many academic and practical jobs as part of community life there, which ran from 1972-85. The 1983 scandal at SF Zen Center led to the departure of Baker Roshi. In 1984, in the formal shuso ceremony, David was ordained as a head monk at the Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco.
In 1985 David was formally accepted by Trungpa Rinpoche as a student. He attended Vajradhatu Seminary in 1986 and staffed Seminary again in 1988.
David wrote Street Zen, a biography of Issan Dorsey, published in 1993 by Shambhala Publications, and again in 2000 by Marlowe. Street Zen won several prizes, included “Best Buddhist Book of the Year” in 1993. In 1994 he co-edited with Kazuaki Tanahashi a collection of zen stories, titled Essential Zen.
In 1995, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed David Director of Shambhala Europe by, a position he held until 2003. David now works for Vajradhatu Publications Europe; he continues as well to pursue writing projects – currently, a biography of Beat poet and zen master Zenshin Philip Whalen – as well as calligraphy exhibitions. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche appointed David to the post of acharya in 1996.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
September 2, 2021
Der historische Operationsband By. Dr. David Schnieder ist am anschaulichsten, wenn er Jahrhunderte von wissenschaftlichen Durchbrüchen der dynamischsten und wegweisendsten Ärzte der Disziplin aufzeichnet. Es verweist darauf, dass altgriechische Theorien über Luft nicht mehr zufriedenstellend waren. Die einzige Möglichkeit, es zu bewerten, war, es zu isolieren. Eine Glasglocke aus klarem Glas. Zusammen mit einer Vakuumpumpe. Wenn die Luft aus der Glasglocke gesaugt wurde, starb der Vogel. Oder die brennende Kerze und sobald sie starb, wurde die Rate schlaff. Durch Beobachtung und Isolation konnten wir eine Sache klar als das erkennen, was sie war. Isolation ist eine häufig verwendete Methode, um eine Rückkehr zur Gesundheit oder zur Homöostase zu fördern.
Es ist 1536. Der Krieg bot dem Chirurgen Ambroise Paré eine ideale Gelegenheit. Die konventionelle Weisheit diktierte, dass Schusswunden mit kochendem Öl kauterisiert werden sollten. Zur Bestürzung von Chirurg Paré war er derzeit ölfrei, so dass er Patienten mit einem Gebräu aus Eigelb, Rosenöl und Terpentin behandelte. Wie viele Chirurgen vor und nach verfeinerte Paré sein Handwerk und verglich den Patienten der Behandlung mit heißem Öl mit dem Terpentinmittel und schätzte die Ergebnisse ab. In Schneiders "The Invention of Surgery" begann die moderne Chirurgie mit einem großen Verlernen von teils kuriosen Heilmethoden. Klassisches Griechenland.
Zweitausend Jahre westlicher Medizin wurden Hippokrates zugeschrieben, dessen Theorie der vier Körpersäfte unserem Vokabular Wörter wie Galle und Sanguiniker hinzufügte, aber auch viele Patienten tötete. Schwerkranke/dehydrierte Patienten erhielten schädliche Medikamente, um Erbrechen und Durchfall zu provozieren, oder verbluteten mit Blutegeln und Lanzetten. „Wenn Hippokrates der Vater der Medizin ist, dann ist das eine zweifelhafte Vaterschaft“, und wir fragen uns, ob er der Vater des Schmerzes war, schreibt Dr. Schneider. Wir können keine guten Ergebnisse feststellen, die mit seinen (oder seinen Anhängern) Theorien verbunden sind. Viele Male verschlimmerte die Kur den Zustand und half ihm nicht im geringsten. Gut.
Es ist 1536. Der Krieg bot dem Chirurgen Ambroise Paré eine ideale Gelegenheit. Die konventionelle Weisheit diktierte, dass Schusswunden mit kochendem Öl kauterisiert werden sollten. Zur Bestürzung von Chirurg Paré war er derzeit ölfrei, so dass er Patienten mit einem Gebräu aus Eigelb, Rosenöl und Terpentin behandelte. Wie viele Chirurgen vor und nach verfeinerte Paré sein Handwerk und verglich den Patienten der Behandlung mit heißem Öl mit dem Terpentinmittel und schätzte die Ergebnisse ab. In Schneiders "The Invention of Surgery" begann die moderne Chirurgie mit einem großen Verlernen von teils kuriosen Heilmethoden. Klassisches Griechenland.
Zweitausend Jahre westlicher Medizin wurden Hippokrates zugeschrieben, dessen Theorie der vier Körpersäfte unserem Vokabular Wörter wie Galle und Sanguiniker hinzufügte, aber auch viele Patienten tötete. Schwerkranke/dehydrierte Patienten erhielten schädliche Medikamente, um Erbrechen und Durchfall zu provozieren, oder verbluteten mit Blutegeln und Lanzetten. „Wenn Hippokrates der Vater der Medizin ist, dann ist das eine zweifelhafte Vaterschaft“, und wir fragen uns, ob er der Vater des Schmerzes war, schreibt Dr. Schneider. Wir können keine guten Ergebnisse feststellen, die mit seinen (oder seinen Anhängern) Theorien verbunden sind. Viele Male verschlimmerte die Kur den Zustand und half ihm nicht im geringsten. Gut.
April 21, 2021
This is a difficult book to rate. On one hand the information that the author presents is excellent, interesting, and insightful. On the other hand, the editor of the book should be fired for presenting the information in a terribly unorganized fashion.
This book suffers from poor organization of the content. And also awkward transitions within sections. The author's awkward transitions can be seen on page 228 where the author is speaking about the medical industrial complex in Houston and then transitions to contemplating the industrial complex by how many implants have been put into people.
The author often starts on a discussion of a subject or an individual and then proceeds to talk about something else. Then later he'll pick up that subject or individual again and start speaking more about him. For example, John Charnley. The author first mentions Charnley in one section as a pioneer of orthopedic hip implants. Then several chapters later he details Charnley's biography in essence talking about his early life, contributions to osteopathic surgery, and his inventions and techniques towards osteopathic implants. These discontinuities are a result of the author following subjects (doctors or techniques, etc.) versus a timeline. Some time discontinuity is necessary as the author approaches the book in terms of subjects and not in a serial timeline. While subject-based organization is fine it is not executed well this book and detracts greatly from his work.
Also, there are many awkward transitions. Near the end the author discusses predicting the future of surgery and medicine. Then unexpected he starts discussing neurology and the brain in depth. Many pages later he finally gets back to the future relates these discussions back to predicting the future.
Overall, this work is interesting and provides an enormous amount of information. It is just hard to get to that information.
This book suffers from poor organization of the content. And also awkward transitions within sections. The author's awkward transitions can be seen on page 228 where the author is speaking about the medical industrial complex in Houston and then transitions to contemplating the industrial complex by how many implants have been put into people.
The author often starts on a discussion of a subject or an individual and then proceeds to talk about something else. Then later he'll pick up that subject or individual again and start speaking more about him. For example, John Charnley. The author first mentions Charnley in one section as a pioneer of orthopedic hip implants. Then several chapters later he details Charnley's biography in essence talking about his early life, contributions to osteopathic surgery, and his inventions and techniques towards osteopathic implants. These discontinuities are a result of the author following subjects (doctors or techniques, etc.) versus a timeline. Some time discontinuity is necessary as the author approaches the book in terms of subjects and not in a serial timeline. While subject-based organization is fine it is not executed well this book and detracts greatly from his work.
Also, there are many awkward transitions. Near the end the author discusses predicting the future of surgery and medicine. Then unexpected he starts discussing neurology and the brain in depth. Many pages later he finally gets back to the future relates these discussions back to predicting the future.
Overall, this work is interesting and provides an enormous amount of information. It is just hard to get to that information.
December 3, 2020
Interesting but I had a hard time with the tone/ attitude of the author. Probably on my part as I didn't adhere to his writing style. Some anecdotes came come off as judgmental and a little bit arrogant (the phrasing).
The information and history shared in the book are worth the read. The title is a little bit misleading in my opinion. It is very focus on orthopedic evolution. Interested readers should read the subtitling closely.
The information and history shared in the book are worth the read. The title is a little bit misleading in my opinion. It is very focus on orthopedic evolution. Interested readers should read the subtitling closely.
April 17, 2021
This is a history of surgery and medicine in general, with a lot of additional general (chiefly European) history. I read is as a part of monthly reading for March 2021 at Non Fiction Book Club group.
The book starts with quoting another text that “malady, in any era before 1865 , would have been better served by suffering alone, away from the “care” of a physician.” Then he in length writes about the earlier history, pointing negative effects a prohibition of examining corpses (Roman, not Christian btw), fluids theories of Hippocrates and wrong ideas of Galen, which halted getting new info about people and their diseases for centuries. From time to time he inserts anecdotes of his own experiences as a med student and then a doctor.
He describes not only how surgery developed, but the necessary assistance – knowledge about bacteria and microbes, development of anesthetic and insertion of foreign objects into the body with main interest in prosthetics of joints – his specialty. There are separate chapters about cost of healthcare is the US and about the fact that by 2020 each year 20mn Americans get prosthetics in their bodies each year, from tooth implants to artificial hips, but there is still no united registry of them, so often we find out about negative effects too late.
While interesting, I guess the book could have been cut in half and directed better to its title, the history of surgery, instead of going too broad.
The book starts with quoting another text that “malady, in any era before 1865 , would have been better served by suffering alone, away from the “care” of a physician.” Then he in length writes about the earlier history, pointing negative effects a prohibition of examining corpses (Roman, not Christian btw), fluids theories of Hippocrates and wrong ideas of Galen, which halted getting new info about people and their diseases for centuries. From time to time he inserts anecdotes of his own experiences as a med student and then a doctor.
He describes not only how surgery developed, but the necessary assistance – knowledge about bacteria and microbes, development of anesthetic and insertion of foreign objects into the body with main interest in prosthetics of joints – his specialty. There are separate chapters about cost of healthcare is the US and about the fact that by 2020 each year 20mn Americans get prosthetics in their bodies each year, from tooth implants to artificial hips, but there is still no united registry of them, so often we find out about negative effects too late.
While interesting, I guess the book could have been cut in half and directed better to its title, the history of surgery, instead of going too broad.
March 12, 2020
this wasn’t exactly my cup of tea but I really did enjoy the philosophy and history of the medical history! but everything was just eh but that’s just because of my personal reading tastes
July 23, 2021
I love books on the history of science, mathematics, and medicine. This was a fascinating one and was only slightly marred by a couple of agonizingly detailed statistical chapters near the end. You could skip those and it would be a five-star book. We generally have NO idea how very different our lives are from those of people only 75 or 80 years ago as far as our life-saving and life-improving medical options are concerned.
September 5, 2020
This book is disjointed and needs an editor. It would be more appropriately titled “A book about some history of surgery - mostly orthopedic surgery and implants”. Perhaps it was to be called “The Implant Revolution” and author changed title when unable to publish with that title. The author, an orthopedic surgeon, waxes about inventors of devices and slips frequently into the bravado known for orthopedic surgeons when describing any successes or inventions in orthopedic surgery. It appears the book may have been retitled for marketing reasons. Equally enthusiastic the authors discussion of failures in implant companies such as Depuy Orthopedics. The book is interesting but disjointed and perhaps in need of some surgical excision and remediation.
July 31, 2024
I’m going to project brain theory
the force is strong 💪 with the quarks
This book is masterful, Played a speed round of Smash or Pass during the midst of a rather intense coffee date with some friends on the included pictures; things were getting pretty heated. All I have to say was that the Hematoxylin histologically stained slide was an absolute SMASH and so was Otto Dieters AND I STAND MY GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!! Feel actually empty after finishing this book, have started to audio book it on the elliptical like it’s actually so rough out here! I’m so thankful that someone dedicated so much time to bless the world with this masterful perspective ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR
So i’m going in for that reread and what about it.
the force is strong 💪 with the quarks
This book is masterful, Played a speed round of Smash or Pass during the midst of a rather intense coffee date with some friends on the included pictures; things were getting pretty heated. All I have to say was that the Hematoxylin histologically stained slide was an absolute SMASH and so was Otto Dieters AND I STAND MY GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!! Feel actually empty after finishing this book, have started to audio book it on the elliptical like it’s actually so rough out here! I’m so thankful that someone dedicated so much time to bless the world with this masterful perspective ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR
So i’m going in for that reread and what about it.
May 24, 2020
Such a fun, crazy, and often macabre story, and SO cool! Dr. Schneider turns what is normally painfully dry material into an amazingly cohesive and fascinating account of who-what-where-and-when our present-day, taken-for-granted, elective surgeries became possible, and speculates as to what's to come in our not-too-distant future; a true-life sci-fi adventure!
May 15, 2021
Fantastic read. The last chapters aren't as interesting, but it's well worth the read!
October 7, 2020
Quite interesting bits of history here, like how the US healthcare and health insurance industries became so messed up and expensive.
The writer is a very American surgeon. So basically nothing about the other cultures’ (than Greek, then central western European and then US) centuries ans millennia ago surgeries are even mentioned. If you needed surgery a thousand years ago, the best bet you had in Europe were the Moors, in southern Spain. They had definitely much more survivable surgical skills than the rest of the Europe for several centuries after. Why is there nothing about them here? Why is there nothing about the Egyptian, South American or Chinese cultures where surgeries with various degrees of skill and success was definitely performed thousands of years ago.
So the history as typical starts with the Greeks, then moves to central Western Europe and USA. As if nothing worthy of mention in inventions, developments, or history ever happened anywhere else. Sorry, I am just not buying into this super Americans and a few German and English scientists invented it all narrative.
The history of medicine is apparently as full of building egos and personal cults of a few considered heroes as is any field one happens to story. So very similar to studying for instance the history of architecture. While some of the heroes’ life stories are interesting, and I appreciate learning about the history of Rochester and Mayo clinic, less about the people and more about the techniques and inventions could have been more practical.
My favorite people described in a book are an elderly deafblind couple of a few decades ago. The surgeon narrator learns more about them, and I love how he’s not only focused (at least in this case) at fixing people.
There are some disturbing numbers in the book. A lot, and all over. While the history and skills of surgeries improve fast after the invention of hand washing and antibiotics, and while now it’s also all about implants and prosthetics, it leaves at least me uneasy. Are we supposed to have that many implants and unnecessary, elective surgeries in our bodies? Apparently nearly half of US population aged 50 has at least some implants. Whether it’s because they needed a body enhancing implant as part of sports medicine culture, or breast implants, or a brain implant to fix their questionable, mild depression oe tremors... he goes on and on, painting a future of where humans will have even more implants. The aftertaste of the book is uneasiness, dislike of the futures painted.
The audiobook was narrated by the author. The voice is pleasant, keeps you interested, and is easy to follow.
The writer is a very American surgeon. So basically nothing about the other cultures’ (than Greek, then central western European and then US) centuries ans millennia ago surgeries are even mentioned. If you needed surgery a thousand years ago, the best bet you had in Europe were the Moors, in southern Spain. They had definitely much more survivable surgical skills than the rest of the Europe for several centuries after. Why is there nothing about them here? Why is there nothing about the Egyptian, South American or Chinese cultures where surgeries with various degrees of skill and success was definitely performed thousands of years ago.
So the history as typical starts with the Greeks, then moves to central Western Europe and USA. As if nothing worthy of mention in inventions, developments, or history ever happened anywhere else. Sorry, I am just not buying into this super Americans and a few German and English scientists invented it all narrative.
The history of medicine is apparently as full of building egos and personal cults of a few considered heroes as is any field one happens to story. So very similar to studying for instance the history of architecture. While some of the heroes’ life stories are interesting, and I appreciate learning about the history of Rochester and Mayo clinic, less about the people and more about the techniques and inventions could have been more practical.
My favorite people described in a book are an elderly deafblind couple of a few decades ago. The surgeon narrator learns more about them, and I love how he’s not only focused (at least in this case) at fixing people.
There are some disturbing numbers in the book. A lot, and all over. While the history and skills of surgeries improve fast after the invention of hand washing and antibiotics, and while now it’s also all about implants and prosthetics, it leaves at least me uneasy. Are we supposed to have that many implants and unnecessary, elective surgeries in our bodies? Apparently nearly half of US population aged 50 has at least some implants. Whether it’s because they needed a body enhancing implant as part of sports medicine culture, or breast implants, or a brain implant to fix their questionable, mild depression oe tremors... he goes on and on, painting a future of where humans will have even more implants. The aftertaste of the book is uneasiness, dislike of the futures painted.
The audiobook was narrated by the author. The voice is pleasant, keeps you interested, and is easy to follow.
August 20, 2020
The Invention of Surgery is an in-depth exploration of surgery and medicine, dating back to the wildly incorrect philosophies of ancient Greek physicians all the way forward to the modern implant era. Along the way, author Dr. David Schneider enlightens readers about the principles of antiseptic operations, the discovery of important medicinal treatments, the role of surgery in the overall field of medicine, and the many ways our understanding of the human body has changed over time. Featuring important biographies of the physicians and patients who have shaped surgical practice and our knowledge of physical ailments, The Invention of Surgery provides a robust look at surgery throughout history, including a glance forward into the possible future of implant surgery while our technology continues to exceed every expectation.
I listened to The Invention of Surgery as an audiobook, and it was so many things. Profoundly informative, deeply interesting, and very, very in-depth, the book goes as far back as the teachings of Galen and the humoral system all the way forward to modern marvels that can hold off or correct some of the most devastating diseases and conditions we currently understand. Given so much ground to cover, this book was very long- just over 23 hours of listen time. Some sections definitely captured my attention more than others, but the diversity of material (combining biographies of surgeons and patients, stories about important discoveries, explanations of surgical practices, and also first-hand accounts of different surgical procedures Dr. Schneider has been part of in some way) ensured that for any section that failed to delight, there was another engaging bit of knowledge just ahead. The history of surgery is, as with many histories, mainly focused on the accomplishments of white men, and I wondered if there might be any other sides to the stories being told or other information from different cultures (outside of Europe and North America) that could have been explored. But those may be topics for another book, and now armed with more surgical knowledge then I ever anticipated gaining without being in a medical field, I can go searching for even more medicinal knowledge. I feel a great appreciation for the storied and complex history of surgery throughout the years, and for anyone interested in a wide-ranging yet still in-depth history of modern surgical technique, The Invention of Surgery is a good place to start.
I listened to The Invention of Surgery as an audiobook, and it was so many things. Profoundly informative, deeply interesting, and very, very in-depth, the book goes as far back as the teachings of Galen and the humoral system all the way forward to modern marvels that can hold off or correct some of the most devastating diseases and conditions we currently understand. Given so much ground to cover, this book was very long- just over 23 hours of listen time. Some sections definitely captured my attention more than others, but the diversity of material (combining biographies of surgeons and patients, stories about important discoveries, explanations of surgical practices, and also first-hand accounts of different surgical procedures Dr. Schneider has been part of in some way) ensured that for any section that failed to delight, there was another engaging bit of knowledge just ahead. The history of surgery is, as with many histories, mainly focused on the accomplishments of white men, and I wondered if there might be any other sides to the stories being told or other information from different cultures (outside of Europe and North America) that could have been explored. But those may be topics for another book, and now armed with more surgical knowledge then I ever anticipated gaining without being in a medical field, I can go searching for even more medicinal knowledge. I feel a great appreciation for the storied and complex history of surgery throughout the years, and for anyone interested in a wide-ranging yet still in-depth history of modern surgical technique, The Invention of Surgery is a good place to start.
August 24, 2021
Let's start with the bad - it's unnecessarily and extremely long. Almost all of the personal anecdote could've been removed, and the reader would lose nothing. I'm shocked the editors kept so much in. The author's enormous ego shines through nearly every page and colors his obscenely reverential tone - you won't find a history written in the past 100 years that deifies its subjects to a greater degree. And when it comes to histories, in general, and histories of innovation, this is a massive weakness.
Dr. Schneider is a doctor - I'm sure he is a good doctor. And quite a good writer for those in his field. But he is not a particularly good historian or futurist, and he didn't seem to learn the historical lesson that being very knowledgeable doesn't necessarily make you better at predicting the future. He probably should've left artificial intelligence out of the end chapters, entirely.
When it comes to the message he hopes to share - the contextualization of our current debates about the cost of healthcare and safety of the FDA approval process in the history and fantastic advancements of the field - the message is muddied and weakened by all of the above. But there's plenty of good, here, and it's well worth a read. This contextualization of current questions about healthcare is *quite* comprehensive and valuable, when appropriately taken with a 100ccs of saline.
Dr. Schneider is a doctor - I'm sure he is a good doctor. And quite a good writer for those in his field. But he is not a particularly good historian or futurist, and he didn't seem to learn the historical lesson that being very knowledgeable doesn't necessarily make you better at predicting the future. He probably should've left artificial intelligence out of the end chapters, entirely.
When it comes to the message he hopes to share - the contextualization of our current debates about the cost of healthcare and safety of the FDA approval process in the history and fantastic advancements of the field - the message is muddied and weakened by all of the above. But there's plenty of good, here, and it's well worth a read. This contextualization of current questions about healthcare is *quite* comprehensive and valuable, when appropriately taken with a 100ccs of saline.
April 23, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It was really well researched, and I liked the personal stories that the author added to most chapters. I could see how this book might get too technical for people who aren’t in the life sciences, but if you are in medicine, science, history of science this book will fascinate. The title of the book indicates that it is about surgery and its history, however it is more encompassing, it’s really about the history of medicine.
September 20, 2024
Fascinating subject, but I felt the writing and organization wasn't the best. It was also very detailed, but it was easy to get lost in all the names.
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February 19, 2025David Schneider is himself a surgeon, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in transplants. So transplant surgery (as in hip replacements, knee replacements) is his focus. He appears to have set about to write a book about how his specialty got to where it is today, and it got broadened to the history of surgery in general, perhaps to make the book appealing to more people.
But it really is about the history of surgery in general. Because in order to be able to do a knee replacement, medicine had to get beyond the belief in the four humors, had to come to accept germ theory, and aseptic practice, and had to develop antibiotics, and anesthetics, and had to discern which materials could endure inside the human body without corroding. The development of medical insurance is also covered in detail, because people couldn’t have elective surgery done if they couldn’t afford to pay for it. And government regulation was required to ensure that the implants were safe.
Over and over again we are reminded that for centuries, a person was better off not even going to a doctor, because a doctor could do nothing to help, and often made things worse. Hospitals were death houses. It was a long process of developing the science, trusting the science, and overcoming entrenched ways of doing things.
And it is a series of stories. Dr Schneider tells us of the pioneering scientists and doctors who would change the world. The tone is often triumphal. As in: So-and-so was a genius who would change the world forever! His techniques are still used in every laboratory in the world today!
Dr Schneider also tells stories of his own experiences as a doctor. Sometimes they seem less relevant to the history of medicine as a whole, but they are interesting. Putting leeches on the hand of an Amish boy (while the family members in the room stunk of the barn). Cutting “fungus balls” out of the arms and legs of an AIDS patient. Rescuing a man from necrotizing fasciitis by cutting off his whole arm (in that case an experienced surgeon did the cutting, but young David did the recognizing of the emergency).
There is one chapter that is entirely math, where he tries to calculate exactly how many implants are implanted every year, without having any national statistics. (It is a recurring theme that there should be a US national implant registry, and there is not.) The implants include anything that is put in the body and intended to remain there for the rest of the person’s life: artificial joints, as well as pacemakers and electrical stimulators, cochlear implants. The list is long, and the numbers are huge. That is the point.
The book veers to a surprising place at the end, a prediction that we’re going to have “smart” implants that make cyborgs of ourselves, connecting our bodies to computers. It is probably true that some such thing will happen, as we already have, for example, blood sugar sensors connected to phone apps. But Dr Schneider imagines we will turn to such smart implants in the near future because we will have cured all the run of the mill common diseases. I think that will never happen. Even with genetic engineering and new drugs, infectious diseases will always plague us. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill me mutates and tries again.” But in the meantime, we can get good hip replacements today.
But it really is about the history of surgery in general. Because in order to be able to do a knee replacement, medicine had to get beyond the belief in the four humors, had to come to accept germ theory, and aseptic practice, and had to develop antibiotics, and anesthetics, and had to discern which materials could endure inside the human body without corroding. The development of medical insurance is also covered in detail, because people couldn’t have elective surgery done if they couldn’t afford to pay for it. And government regulation was required to ensure that the implants were safe.
Over and over again we are reminded that for centuries, a person was better off not even going to a doctor, because a doctor could do nothing to help, and often made things worse. Hospitals were death houses. It was a long process of developing the science, trusting the science, and overcoming entrenched ways of doing things.
And it is a series of stories. Dr Schneider tells us of the pioneering scientists and doctors who would change the world. The tone is often triumphal. As in: So-and-so was a genius who would change the world forever! His techniques are still used in every laboratory in the world today!
Dr Schneider also tells stories of his own experiences as a doctor. Sometimes they seem less relevant to the history of medicine as a whole, but they are interesting. Putting leeches on the hand of an Amish boy (while the family members in the room stunk of the barn). Cutting “fungus balls” out of the arms and legs of an AIDS patient. Rescuing a man from necrotizing fasciitis by cutting off his whole arm (in that case an experienced surgeon did the cutting, but young David did the recognizing of the emergency).
There is one chapter that is entirely math, where he tries to calculate exactly how many implants are implanted every year, without having any national statistics. (It is a recurring theme that there should be a US national implant registry, and there is not.) The implants include anything that is put in the body and intended to remain there for the rest of the person’s life: artificial joints, as well as pacemakers and electrical stimulators, cochlear implants. The list is long, and the numbers are huge. That is the point.
The book veers to a surprising place at the end, a prediction that we’re going to have “smart” implants that make cyborgs of ourselves, connecting our bodies to computers. It is probably true that some such thing will happen, as we already have, for example, blood sugar sensors connected to phone apps. But Dr Schneider imagines we will turn to such smart implants in the near future because we will have cured all the run of the mill common diseases. I think that will never happen. Even with genetic engineering and new drugs, infectious diseases will always plague us. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill me mutates and tries again.” But in the meantime, we can get good hip replacements today.
February 18, 2021
This was mostly a very interesting listen that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I do have some critiques of the author. Firstly, around chapter nine, the book could have been ended. The reason I say this is because the book stops being a coherent whole after that point. The first half is engaging, interesting, and fascinating to listen to. The second half reads more like an academic paper (with some out-of-place exceptions in the cardiac section and randomly spaced biographical cuts like that of the Mayo family). Secondly, this book had poor organization. At first, it isn't noticable because scientific developments were few and far apart, but after a while, Schneider begins to jump across timelines between his chapters. I believe this to be a poor decision for topical rather than chronological organization, however, this is a personal preference due to this being my first foray into medical history. For readers new to the topic, I wouldn't depend on being able to walk away with a good mental timeline. Lastly, the general impression I left with about the author is that this book contains all the knowledge he possesses that didn't fit elsewhere in his publications. For example, there is no making up for the abrupt style changes from historical narrative to political commentary on healthcare costs to dry statistical analysis. Additionally, the seemingly misplaced insistence on including pacemaker/cardiac history comes out of the issue to trying hard to fit his implant revolution content into the book. I understand it's his specialty and also seems to be his schtick, but it just doesn't work. If I were the editor, I would've advised Schneider to publish the first nine chapters with a wrap-up tenth, and then separately publish his statistical analyses of the implant revolution in a series of publications elsewhere. You may lose the battle of helping the layperson get to know about the implant revolution, but I think it beats having the good parts of your book buried under a pile of bad reviews.
July 28, 2020
As a physician I knew some of the details presented but found much new and fascinating. John Hunter has long been a hero mine if that can be said of someone long dead. As I listened I realized I have implants; lenses to replace cataracts and a tooth. I trained at thre Mayo and remember hearing the story behind the decision to treat the nurse with Streptomycin for T B. It involved 6 rats. 2 untreated who had TB. 2 with T B treated with Streptomycin. 2 without T B who also received Streptomycin. The 4 that received Streptomycin survived. On the basis of that the decision was made to treat. Successfully. Sadly Streptomycin resistance has now made it no longer useful in T B treatment.
I recall when the FDA first proposed monitoring and regulating heart valves (my interest) and how worried everyone was. While the FDA isn't without fault it beats the wild West that used to exist. It made mistakes in monitoring the manufacturer of generic Heparin that threatened the lifesaving supply. And it has allowed drugs like oxycontin. Improving i the FDA is the clear goal.
I like the idea of loners tinkering to make discoveries of great New insights.
The enumeration of the number and variety of implant placed each year was perhaps too long but made that point of how it is impacting everyone's life.
In a world where factories need few workers perhaps spending that extra wealth on health Care won't be a bad thing. What is better than taking care of one another?
Predicting the future is admitting you are willing to be wrong but hoping you get the broad outline.
The current Covid pandemic is a reminder we need to solve the population problem.
I recall when the FDA first proposed monitoring and regulating heart valves (my interest) and how worried everyone was. While the FDA isn't without fault it beats the wild West that used to exist. It made mistakes in monitoring the manufacturer of generic Heparin that threatened the lifesaving supply. And it has allowed drugs like oxycontin. Improving i the FDA is the clear goal.
I like the idea of loners tinkering to make discoveries of great New insights.
The enumeration of the number and variety of implant placed each year was perhaps too long but made that point of how it is impacting everyone's life.
In a world where factories need few workers perhaps spending that extra wealth on health Care won't be a bad thing. What is better than taking care of one another?
Predicting the future is admitting you are willing to be wrong but hoping you get the broad outline.
The current Covid pandemic is a reminder we need to solve the population problem.
December 15, 2023
This is an extraordinary book! Spanning the centuries of human-kind' attempts at healing, it is profound, informative, historical... so many things. I enjoyed it immensely.
It actually starts with the Greeks, not the Renaissance, and clarifies something I had always believed. It was the Romans not the Early Christians who prohibited the dissection of cadavers. This set back the investigation of the human body to the detriment of humanity. I had always thought it was Christianity with its belief in the second coming and desire to preserve intact the bodies of the dead.
Anyway, that was just a little tidbit. Another one was this: for the entire history of the human species to go to a doctor or healer was putting oneself in more danger than to just let the illness run its course, and this was the case until very, very recently.
As an avid history reader, I most enjoyed the stories of the individuals that, over the centuries, made significant discoveries and contributed to present day medicine. Anesthesia was "discovered" in the 1880s, antibiotics in the 1940s, and so on and forth. I only lost focus in the next-to-last chapter when the author gives a pile of statistics for the implant revolution. But this one too, counted on leaps of the imagination by countless medical and scientific pioneers, who sometimes met with derision.
It should be read by everyone who has ever been to a doctor, and this reader, who has had more than her share of medical emergencies, is very grateful to be living in the present moment.
It actually starts with the Greeks, not the Renaissance, and clarifies something I had always believed. It was the Romans not the Early Christians who prohibited the dissection of cadavers. This set back the investigation of the human body to the detriment of humanity. I had always thought it was Christianity with its belief in the second coming and desire to preserve intact the bodies of the dead.
Anyway, that was just a little tidbit. Another one was this: for the entire history of the human species to go to a doctor or healer was putting oneself in more danger than to just let the illness run its course, and this was the case until very, very recently.
As an avid history reader, I most enjoyed the stories of the individuals that, over the centuries, made significant discoveries and contributed to present day medicine. Anesthesia was "discovered" in the 1880s, antibiotics in the 1940s, and so on and forth. I only lost focus in the next-to-last chapter when the author gives a pile of statistics for the implant revolution. But this one too, counted on leaps of the imagination by countless medical and scientific pioneers, who sometimes met with derision.
It should be read by everyone who has ever been to a doctor, and this reader, who has had more than her share of medical emergencies, is very grateful to be living in the present moment.
November 29, 2024
I listened to this book rather than reading it.
In my 20s I worked as an operating room tech and that was the single most interesting job I ever had, and I've done all sorts of jobs. I enjoyed being around surgeons, most of them anyway, and loved the intensity and focus required to work as a successful team. There was often chatter over the operating table, the stories of residencies, past surgeries, and the big names in surgery, past and present.
This book gave me the foundation to better understand how surgery got to where it was in the 1970s and where it is today and where it is likely to go from here. I heard the names of famous surgeons and companies that I'd heard years before. It reminded me that I loved working in surgery.
Some reviewers have complained that the book took a long time to get to actual surgery but I found those first chapters fascinating. Without two very important steps we would not have surgery. We needed antibiotics/sterile technique and anesthesia in its various forms. The stories of how we made those steps are wonders. At least to me. Others complain of the organization of the book but to me the way it unfolded made perfect sense. Some complain that the focus was too much on orthopedics but the words "Implant Revolution" in the title tipped me off that orthopedics would be the focus. That said, there are a lot more varieties of surgery discussed and explained at length that have nothing to do with orthopedics.
If the history of medicine and science interests you then I'd recommend this book.
In my 20s I worked as an operating room tech and that was the single most interesting job I ever had, and I've done all sorts of jobs. I enjoyed being around surgeons, most of them anyway, and loved the intensity and focus required to work as a successful team. There was often chatter over the operating table, the stories of residencies, past surgeries, and the big names in surgery, past and present.
This book gave me the foundation to better understand how surgery got to where it was in the 1970s and where it is today and where it is likely to go from here. I heard the names of famous surgeons and companies that I'd heard years before. It reminded me that I loved working in surgery.
Some reviewers have complained that the book took a long time to get to actual surgery but I found those first chapters fascinating. Without two very important steps we would not have surgery. We needed antibiotics/sterile technique and anesthesia in its various forms. The stories of how we made those steps are wonders. At least to me. Others complain of the organization of the book but to me the way it unfolded made perfect sense. Some complain that the focus was too much on orthopedics but the words "Implant Revolution" in the title tipped me off that orthopedics would be the focus. That said, there are a lot more varieties of surgery discussed and explained at length that have nothing to do with orthopedics.
If the history of medicine and science interests you then I'd recommend this book.
February 21, 2022
Do yourself a favor and do not read this book. The only reason I finished it is because this was an assigned book for school.
Pros of this book: Very well-researched topcis. It is clear the author took a significant amount of time to understand each of the topics discussed in each chapter. The details are impressive and accurate. You will learn a lot about the history of medicine.
Cons of reading this book: It is completely mislabeled. Not only is this book hardly about surgery, but it is written by an orthopedic surgeon who seems to focus the small amount of surgery content on an "implant revolution" in his surgical subspecialty...without even covering the origins of orthopedic surgery! Everybody knows about Stryker, the world's largest medical device company - It was started by a pioneer orthopedic surgeon (Homer Stryker) who is credited with changing the face of surgery (similar to Harvey Cushing and neurosurgery). And yet he was never mentioned. In fact, the actual topic of surgery isn't mentioned until about halfway through the book (Chapter TEN).
Cons (contd.): You will not only not learn much about surgery's history, but you'll get detailed descriptions of the origins of antibiotics, Medicare/Medicaid services, the lives of random American politicians, descriptions of heavy metals, and the creation of polymers...All in no particular order.
Pros of this book: Very well-researched topcis. It is clear the author took a significant amount of time to understand each of the topics discussed in each chapter. The details are impressive and accurate. You will learn a lot about the history of medicine.
Cons of reading this book: It is completely mislabeled. Not only is this book hardly about surgery, but it is written by an orthopedic surgeon who seems to focus the small amount of surgery content on an "implant revolution" in his surgical subspecialty...without even covering the origins of orthopedic surgery! Everybody knows about Stryker, the world's largest medical device company - It was started by a pioneer orthopedic surgeon (Homer Stryker) who is credited with changing the face of surgery (similar to Harvey Cushing and neurosurgery). And yet he was never mentioned. In fact, the actual topic of surgery isn't mentioned until about halfway through the book (Chapter TEN).
Cons (contd.): You will not only not learn much about surgery's history, but you'll get detailed descriptions of the origins of antibiotics, Medicare/Medicaid services, the lives of random American politicians, descriptions of heavy metals, and the creation of polymers...All in no particular order.
June 17, 2020
Definitely a recommended read. This is certainly an enjoyable compilation of medical history with its enviable emphasis on the evolution to bodily implants (Dr. Schneider's specialty). He does his best to make the surgical progression seem like a series of continuous if halting steps; I'm not sure it all can be traced to the specific well-known and obscure personalities he's illuminating, but the timeline does seem to match, and, based on his extensive and varied lists of contacts in the endnotes, he had excellent help with his homework. He probably could have lost the chapter with the dry statistics on the type and number of implants; if you were looking to make a point in a medical discussion, it was ripe for that, but I think he could have used the stats to highlight the effect of implant progress while he was telling the implant stories. I'll admit to being mildly shocked at his predictions for the future evolution of humans as medical marionettes: DNA manipulation, brain implants, artificial intelligence, humans as part-robot super beings is just a little too sci-fi to wrap one's head around. It's one thing to cure maladies, it's another to tinker with the plumbing, especially without a firm social and moral consensus.
October 29, 2022
I can’t speak to how a medical professional might find this book, as I’m not one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot.
Have you ever found yourself ill or injured and thought something like, “Wow, it’s a good thing I’m living in the modern age because I’m pretty sure this relatively common and easily treated ailment would have killed or maimed me a hundred years ago!”? This book takes us on a tour through the history of surgery and medical practices in a colourfully narrated way.
Several times I found the author seemingly wandering off topic but found that these tangents almost always ended up being informative side quests with tidbits of historical or scientific knowledge that I didn’t know I was interested in learning until I did. In the end, the author was able to keep me engaged and wanting to know more, with the added bonus of sending me googling down several internet rabbit holes to satisfy curiosities about this thing or that thing. Being a story about humanity’s pursuit for knowledge and growth, that seems fitting.
Worth the read if you’ve ever been curious about how we got to where we are today.
Have you ever found yourself ill or injured and thought something like, “Wow, it’s a good thing I’m living in the modern age because I’m pretty sure this relatively common and easily treated ailment would have killed or maimed me a hundred years ago!”? This book takes us on a tour through the history of surgery and medical practices in a colourfully narrated way.
Several times I found the author seemingly wandering off topic but found that these tangents almost always ended up being informative side quests with tidbits of historical or scientific knowledge that I didn’t know I was interested in learning until I did. In the end, the author was able to keep me engaged and wanting to know more, with the added bonus of sending me googling down several internet rabbit holes to satisfy curiosities about this thing or that thing. Being a story about humanity’s pursuit for knowledge and growth, that seems fitting.
Worth the read if you’ve ever been curious about how we got to where we are today.
June 23, 2021
I was initially excited about seeing this book, the history of surgery is truly fascinating, but this misses the mark. The information is great, the historical stories are true, but the way it's written makes little sense. Many personal acedotes are completely irrelevant to the historical story that is being told, and many of the events are entirely out of order as well. This makes the book confusing and more like a collage of stories rather than a chronologically ordered history of surgery. If you want a good history of surgery breakdown, the BBC made a documentary series called Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery. The series covers heart surgery, brain surgery, plastic surgery, transplant surgery, and general surgery all in its own episodes and it is presented in a more digestable way that is also in chronological order.
If this book had the stories shuffled, anecdotes either removed or switched, and dragged less, it would be a great telling of surgical history. Unfortunately that's not what it is and I can only review it based on what I have read.
If this book had the stories shuffled, anecdotes either removed or switched, and dragged less, it would be a great telling of surgical history. Unfortunately that's not what it is and I can only review it based on what I have read.
March 31, 2021
One of the most extraordinary books i have ever had the pleasure of reading and listening to. The book is breathtaking in its scope as the author takes the reader on an incredible journey through the history of medicine. You will encounter philosophy, history, science, and sheer luck as he describes the oftentimes accidental nature of events which lead to other events and remarkable discoveries. I learned so much from listening to it on audio that i purchased a hard copy for reference. I am so thankful that i live now as opposed to just 150 years ago where i would have been better off not seeing a doctor at all. The author sprinkles the book with his own stories as a medical professional and resident that make it all the more real. His predictions for the future are both fascinating and scary. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in how healing became modern medicine.
April 29, 2020
Overall, the book is very enjoyable and informative! It chronicles the history of "modern" surgery since before the Common Era. Focused on implants as the pinnacle achievement of surgical healthcare, the author traces the people and events that link the first surgeons to barbers in London to today's hip, shoulder, heart, and brain operations. Each chapter begins with a story from his training as an orthopedic surgeon. The tales are melodramatic and the storytelling is filled with cliches, but I still found them interesting. I was ready to give the book a complete 5 star review until the final several chapters where Dr. Schneider turns from history to pontification about the future of human-brain interfaces and other human-enhancement surgeries. No matter those final chapters, this book is definitely worth reading!
October 16, 2024
Written by a surgeon who specializes in shoulder reconstruction, the emphasis was on that body part, and on implants, so a little more detail than I maybe needed about Teflon-coated ball sockets, but remarkably readable and well-written for such a specialized subject. The first half or so of the book was the most engaging; the accomplishments of well-known (Hippocrates, Lister, Newton, Harvey, Bacon) and less famous (Hunter, Billroth, Neer) scientists were put into perspective; the author built the case for the modern implant revolution being dependent on numerous brilliant findings. It was inspirational to read about the perseverance of some of these practitioners, and sometimes shocking to learn of the risks they took, at times using themselves as practice subjects. A highly educational book, now I’m ready for a good beach read.
August 11, 2024
i spent a long time reading this book and i have a lot to say about it.
number one. a pro! its very informative, i took my time reading it because i really wanted to process what was being said to me, and it is a good history book, this is why it is three stars.
number two. where are all the women. theres gotta be at least one influential female in the history of medicine?! (also all the people of colour mentioned where kinda patronised...)
number three. not everyone can be the 'father of ...' this or the 'the greatest achievement ever in the history of everything'
number four. i dont actually care about america... i dont care about their stats and the failing health care system, it doesnt interest me at all! i almost skipped these pages, but i didnt, which is why i finished this book today, and not like a month ago....
overall it did what it said it wanted to do. and i found that good.
number one. a pro! its very informative, i took my time reading it because i really wanted to process what was being said to me, and it is a good history book, this is why it is three stars.
number two. where are all the women. theres gotta be at least one influential female in the history of medicine?! (also all the people of colour mentioned where kinda patronised...)
number three. not everyone can be the 'father of ...' this or the 'the greatest achievement ever in the history of everything'
number four. i dont actually care about america... i dont care about their stats and the failing health care system, it doesnt interest me at all! i almost skipped these pages, but i didnt, which is why i finished this book today, and not like a month ago....
overall it did what it said it wanted to do. and i found that good.
April 6, 2020
This was a fascinating read chronicling the history of medicine with a particular focus, towards the end of the book, on implants. Of particular significance is the fact that until recently, the last 120-150 years, the field of medicine was completely ineffectual. You had as much chance of recovering from a wound or sickness by not going to a doctor as you did by going to one. Slowly, as science made one discovery after another, the field advanced until today, conditions that only 50 years ago were considered a death sentence, are now considered nuisances. Congratulations to Dr. Schneider on a well researched, well written, and easy to read book.
September 12, 2020
I actually lisstened to the audio of this book (over 22 hours). It was really interesting but I don't think I would have finished it if I was reading it. Lots and Lots of detail going back over a thousand years. There were several areas where it dragged but then there would be insight into the personal lives of the men and women who through errors or accidents brought medical treatment to where it is today. Lots of surprises in how people not even in the medical field contributed greatly to our knowledge today and how people that I thought made breakthroughs were not the actual insrigators of great leaps.
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