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Empire of the Scalpel PDF

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Cover Page: III Title Page Page: III Dedication Page: V Author’s Note Page: VI Prelude Page: 1 Part I: Beginnings Page: 12 Chapter 1: Genesis Page: 14 Chapter 2: Exodus Page: 23 Chapter 3: Prolific Pens Page: 29 Chapter 4: Darkness, Then Daylight Page: 36 Part II: Foundations Page: 49 Chapter 5: The Human Road Map Page: 50 Chapter 6: To Stop the Flow Page: 64 Chapter 7: The Circle Page: 78 Chapter 8: Emergence Page: 88 Chapter 9: Transition Page: 103 Part III: Revolutions Page: 117 Chapter 10: Pain-Free Page: 118 Chapter 11: They’re Alive Page: 134 Chapter 12: Scientific Progress Page: 155 Chapter 13: The Shock of Technology Page: 169 Part IV: Baptisms Page: 183 Chapter 14: Mass Appeal Page: 184 Chapter 15: Professionalization Page: 207 Part V: Triumphs Page: 228 Chapter 16: The Blood of War Page: 230 Chapter 17: The Center of Things Page: 253 Chapter 18: Out with the Old Page: 272 Part VI: The Present and the Future Page: 293 Chapter 19: Changes Page: 294 Chapter 20: Prospects Page: 316 Photographs Page: 323 Acknowledgments Page: 324 About the Author Page: 325 Notes Page: 326 Bibliography Page: 346 References Page: 352 Index Page: 384 Photo Credits Page: 400 Copyright Page: 400

Description:
From an eminent surgeon and historian comes the “by turns fascinating and ghastly” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice) story of surgery’s development—from the Stone Age to the present day—blending meticulous medical research with vivid storytelling. There are not many life events that can be as simultaneously frightening and hopeful as a surgical operation. In America, tens-of-millions of major surgical procedures are performed annually, yet few of us consider the magnitude of these figures because we have such inherent confidence in surgeons. And, despite passionate debates about health care and the media’s endless fascination with surgery, most of us have no idea how the first surgeons came to be because the story of surgery has never been fully told. Now, Empire of the Scalpel elegantly reveals surgery’s fascinating evolution from its early roots in ancient Egypt to its refinement in Europe and rise to scientific dominance in the United States. From the 16th-century saga of Andreas Vesalius and his crusade to accurately describe human anatomy while appeasing the conservative clergy who clamored for his burning at the stake, to the hard-to-believe story of late-19th century surgeons’ apathy to Joseph Lister’s innovation of antisepsis and how this indifference led to thousands of unnecessary surgical deaths, Empire of the Scalpel is both a global history and a uniquely American tale. You’ll discover how in the 20th century the US achieved surgical leadership, heralded by Harvard’s Joseph Murray and his Nobel Prize–winning, seemingly impossible feat of transplanting a kidney, which ushered in a new era of transplants that continues to make procedures once thought insurmountable into achievable successes. Today, the list of possible operations is almost infinite—from knee and hip replacement to heart bypass and transplants to fat reduction and rhinoplasty—and “Rutkow has a raconteur’s touch” (San Francisco Chronicle) as he draws on his five-decade career to show us how we got here. Comprehensive, authoritative, and captivating, Empire of the Scalpel is “a fascinating, well-rendered story of how the once-impossible became a daily reality” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.