Science and Technology in Medicine

The history and evolution of the fields of science and medicine are symbiotically linked and thus are mutually dependent. Discoveries in one domain have allowed for progress in the other, and it is nearly impossible to study one area in isolation. The influence of science and technologic discoveries on medicine has profoundly impacted the way physicians practice and has resulted in an extended life expectancy and quality of life that our ancestors never dreamed possible. Science and Technology in Medicine is a collection of 99 essays based on landmark publications that have appeared in the medical literature over the past 500 years. Each essay includes a summary of the article or chapter; text and images reproduced directly from the original source; a short biography of the author(s); and a discussion about the significance of the discovery and its subsequent influence on later developments. Original material by the likes of Dürer, Bernoulli, Doppler, Pasteur, Trendelenburg, Curie and Röntgen offers readers a rare glimpse at publications housed in archives around the world, beautifully reproduced in one fascinating volume.

• Archive
• biography
• medicine
• quality of life
• radiography

From the reviews:

"Writing a book on the histories of science, technology and medicine must indeed be difficult, but Gedeon accomplishes this with great success and turns out a veritable classic, a work of art entitled Science and technology in medicine. … Because of the very subject of the book, while physicians are most likely to enjoy the book, even scientists, technologists, inventors and anyone interested in science and history will learn something new from practically every page of the book." (Sanjay A. Pal, National Medical Journal of India, Vol. 20 (5), 2007)

"Science and Technology in Medicine with its beautiful illustrations and concise text delineates the complex exchange among the sciences that underscores our increasing quantitative and technical medical diagnostic and therapeutic practices today. … the rich illustrations tell the story contextualizing it within the large framework of the history of medicine. The visual effect evokes one’s curiosity at a fundamental level … . With exquisite illustrations and minimal text, Science and Technology in Medicine inspires us to achieve Gedeon’s objective, and perhaps a little more." (Muhammed Hassanali, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 35 (9), September, 2007)

"The book is organized in ninety-nine chapters … . For a biomedical engineer, this is a fascinating book delivering a lot of new information … . richly illustrated with high-quality facsimile reproductions from the original publications. So, to read the book is … entertaining, and once started it is really difficult to lay it aside. … should have a prominent place on the bookshelf of every biomedical engineer, medical physicist and of all scientists who in some way are connected with medical science or practice." (Günter Henning, Biomedizinische Technik, Vol. 53, 2008)

"The aim of this book is to trace footsteps of science and technology in medicine through ninety-nine landmarks with original publications and episodes. … ‘This book will be of value, not only to historians, but also those who wish to illuminate their lectures and speeches with relevant and interesting facts, some of which may be surprising.’ Actually, this book is filled with full-colored high-quality illustrations which will be suitable as contents of lecture slides." (Tatsuo Togawa, Transactions of the Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering, Vol. 45 (3), 2007)

"An illustrated account based on 99 landmark publications … with references. … Each chapter includes enough information to put the discovery into perspective. … Libraries are my first choice. After looking at this book, many readers will likely choose to buy it." (Carl F. Anderson, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Vol. 81 (8), August, 2006)

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