Doctors: The Biography of Medicine
As scientific knowledge and technology advanced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, what it meant to be a doctor changed. Michel Foucault’s insight about this change is well summarized by psychiatrist and medical historian Abraham Nussbaum: Foucault described the moment when physicians combined dissection with clinical practice as
... See moreSuzanne Koven • Letter to a Young Female Physician: Notes from a Medical Life
Until the 20th century, wealthy households in China retained a well-known physician to be on constant call for the entire family, much as major corporations today retain renowned attorneys. The physician would visit the household regularly to check everyone’s health, dispense preventive advice and formulas, check on diets and personal habits, and g
... See moreDaniel P. Reid • The Tao Of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way
Physician Sir William Osler said it was Imhotep who was the real ‘Father of Medicine … the first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity’. Imhotep's legacy in the medical profession can be seen in the origins of the Hippocratic oath (an oath taken by all physicians upon practising) in which it refers to Asclepius – th
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