The healing hand: man and wound in the ancient worldThis journey to the beginnings of the physician's art brings to life the civilizations of the ancient world--Egypt of the Pharaohs, Greece at the time of Hippocrates, Rome under the Caesars, the India of Ashoka, and China as Mencius knew it. Probing the documents and artifacts of the ancient world with a scientist's mind and a detective's eye, Guido Majno pieces together the difficulties people faced in the effort to survive their injuries, as well as the odd, chilling, or inspiring ways in which they rose to the challenge. In asking whether the early healers might have benefited their patients, or only hastened their trip to the grave, Dr. Majno uncovered surprising answers by testing ancient prescriptions in a modern laboratory. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs, many in full color, and climaxing ten years of work, "The Healing Hand" is a spectacular recreation of man's attempts to conquer pain and disease. |
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User Review - ladycato - LibraryThingThis absolutely fabulous book explores healing techniques in civilizations across the ancient world, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Arabia, China, India, Alexandra, and Rome and the works of ... Read full review
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User Review - gmicksmith - LibraryThingThis is a unique work, vast in breadth by a non-specialist who artfully synthesizes diverse fields such as ancient medicine with clinical practitioners. Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
Abbr Akkadian Alexandrian ancient antiquity antiseptic arteries australopithecines bacteria bandage bite bleeding blood body bone called cassia cause Celsus century A.D. Charaka China Chinese Ching cinnamon copper Courtesy disease dressing drugs Ebers papyrus Eciton Egypt Egyptian embalmers Epidemics Erasistratos flesh fracture Galen Geneva Greek Greek medicine hand healing Herophilos hieroglyphs Hindu Hippocrates Hippocratic books History honey human iatros Indian infection inflammation Ktesibios Labat ligature Loeb Classical Library London marma means mentioned Mesopotamia modern Museum myrrh NC-SW nerve Notes operation Paris patient perhaps physician plant Plate Pliny poison practice probably Prof resins Roman Rome skin skull Smith papyrus snake spasm Sumerian surgeon surgery surgical Sushruta sutures swnw tablets thou tissues tourniquet Trans translation treatment tree trepanation ulcer University of Geneva University Press vaidya veins vessels vinegar vols wine word wound
Bibliographic information
| Title | The healing hand: man and wound in the ancient world Commonwealth Fund Publications The Commonwealth Fund Book Program |
| Author | Guido Majno |
| Publisher | Harvard University Press, 1975 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | Jul 30, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0674383303, 9780674383302 |
| Length | 571 pages |
| Subjects | › General Surgery Health & Fitness / General History History of Medicine, Ancient Medical / Healing Medical / History Medicine, Ancient Paleopathology Surgery Surgery/ History Treatment Wounds Wounds and injuries Wounds and injuries/ Treatment/ History |
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