The Abuse of Man: An Illustrated History of Dubious Medical Experimentation

by Wolfgang Weyers

In this work, Wolfgang Weyers, a physician himself, cuts a swath, profoundly, through the history of unethical experiments on humans, from the first intentional innoculation of a patient with syphilis and gonorrhea in England of the late 18th century through the infamous Tuskegee Study...to the exploitation of orphans and prisoners as human guinea pigs...The scope of Weyers' erudition includes the East, as well as the West, and spares none of import who engaged in these unconscionable practices.

756 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Tony61 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at the medical school library. Weyers is a dermatologist who specializes in writing books about human experimentation. The illustrations in this volume add much to the value. Previously he's written a long treatise on the Nuremberg trials.

The Abuse of Man was written in 2002 as a more exhaustive treatment of human experimentation and vivisection. He starts out discussing a history as far back as ancient Greece and into antiquity but most of the book covers the more modern period from the 1700s to present.

This is a sobering dissertation on the advancement of empiricism and its relationship to medical ethics. Every civilization has struggled with the manner in which medical knowledge should be acquired.

Till very recently it was felt that experimentation on prisoners and the feeble-minded was warranted in order to advance society's knowledge of medical practice.

Nazi Germany and the Japanese, especially in reference to the rape of Nanking, brought human medical experimentation to the world's consciousness. The egregious nature and wanton use of torture in the name of medical science enlisted world bodies to advance things like the Nuremberg code and the Helsinki code and the United Nations prohibitions on human experimentation. The most interesting part is that human experimentation continued despite these accords and the worst offenders were Western nations who had won World war II.

I would recommend this book especially for anybody interested in medical ethics or the practice of medicine. Weyers brings up important topics such as the difference between a medical practitioner and a medical scientist and how their motivations are often at odds. The Hippocratic oath dictates that physicians only look out for their patients’ best interest, however, doctor scientists have other priorities, namely the advancement of science. And corporate scientists have yet other motivations, namely commerce.



Weyers notes that the vast majority of human experimentation over the centuries has done nothing to advance the practice of medicine or benefit mankind. The torture instituted by Nazi Germany and the Japanese military during World war II were perhaps the most noteworthy examples of torture being instituted in the name of medical science. Clearly the only goal in those situations was to inflict pain and very little empiric information was acquired.

Physicians and medical students before the 20th century often injected themselves with bacteria and viruses, especially syphilis and malaria in order to study the effects. It was only fairly recently that the idea of tertiary syphilis was discovered. After the the dermatologic manifestations (i.e., rash) of disseminated secondary syphilis, physicians often thought that the disease was cured. Only in the last hundred years have we determined that tertiary syphilis with neurologic sequelae occurs after a long incubation. The author notes that many of these findings could have been determined by just observing those who are naturally infected, and inoculation in an experimental setting was for the most part unnecessary.

Another factoid is that in the 1700s and 1800s German physicians felt that up to 80% of the population were infected with gonorrhea. With the introduction of sulfa, and later penicillin, the endemic nature of sexually transmitted diseases plummeted.

Weyers covers topics including the rise of medical ethics under Hippocrates, the gravediggers and body snatchers of antiquity. He also notes that much of the important findings in medicine, such as Harvey's discovery of blood flow and most of anatomy, had no need for human experimentation or vivisection. Even most infectious diseases could be studied adequately by observation of naturally infected patients.

Jenner's introduction of the smallpox vaccine in the 1700s, however, was a watershed moment that did require trials on human populations. This brought about a huge surge in human experimentation and a relaxation of standards regarding using prison populations, slaves, children, mentally disabled and institutionalized individuals as subjects of human experimentation.

Besides Nazi Germany and Japan, some of the most shocking stories were from the 1960s and 1970s and even into the 1980s where prison populations and minorities were used without regard for ethical considerations. They were often injected with syphilis or allowed to suffer from very treatable diseases. The Tuskegee airmen is a notable example, however, there were many examples and he covers these in depth.

It's a big book and after several hundred pages it's very easy to become cynical for the institutional disregard that our advanced society has had for medical ethics. But it is an important concept and one of which not only physicians and scientists, but even the lay public who elect officials, and governance boards who run healthcare companies should be aware.

Recommended 4.2 stars.

[almond]

I read a little bit from the Nazi chapter, and jesus christ..

The rest of the book seems like an interesting read, would definitely want to read more about it if I ever get the chance.