Covering all periods from Ancient Greece to the present day, this richly illustrated history of medicine offers information and insight on a wide variety of topics. The great milestones of medical history - among them the discovery of the circulation of the blood, vaccination against smallpox, the invention of the X-ray, the development of penicillin - are charted. They are set against the social context of medicine, with accounts of more neglected areas such as patterns of epidemics, the emergence of the medical profession, the history of nursing, unorthodox medical practice, the spread of western medicine beyond Europe and the US, and the patient's viewpoint. Authoritatively and accessibly written by a team of twenty distinguished medical historians and including a helpful glossary, a chronology, and a full index, this is a fascinating introduction to medicine in the west from its beginnings to the present day.