Bizarre Medicine : Unusual Treatments and Practices through the Ages / Ruth Clifford Engs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Engs, Ruth Clifford, author.

Series:

Gale eBooks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medicine--Anecdotes.

Medicine.

Medicine--Miscellanea.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 349 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2023.

Place of Publication:

Santa Barbara : Libraries Unlimited, 2018.

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

This encyclopedia explores historical and contemporary fringe remedies seen as strange, ridiculous, or even gruesome by modern Western medicine but which nevertheless played an important role in the history of medicine. From placing leeches on the neck to treat a cough to using crocodile dung to prevent pregnancy, a number of medical treatments that now seem unusual were once commonplace. While a few of these remedies may have been effective, most were either useless or actually counterproductive to good health. Even today, there are alternative and fringe treatments considered bizarre by mainstream medicine yet used by hundreds of thousands of people. Bizarre Medicine: Unusual Treatments and Practices through the Ages offers a fascinating look into the history of medicine. Entries are organized by disease or medical condition and explore the folk and traditional "cures" used to treat them. Explanations are provided for why some treatments may have worked and why others may have done more harm than good. In addition, entries provide a clear description of the causes, symptoms, and current treatment options for each condition based on current scientific understanding. Each entry also discusses the condition's enduring impact on society and the arts.

Contents:

List of Entries Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Entries Glossary Bibliography Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Engs, Ruth Clifford Bizarre Medicine: Unusual Treatments and Practices Through the Ages

ISBN:

9798400619359

9798216054139

9781440871252

1440871256

OCLC:

1250429411