From shaman to physician

Author: (American) Haggard
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: This book is compiled based on Disease, Drugs, and Doctors – A History from Witchcraft to Medicine (original by W. Haggard). As a bestseller that has been popular in Europe and America for many years, its influence far exceeds the scope of medical history. This is also the reason why we introduce it to a broad readership. The historical practice of humanity's struggle against diseases has always unfolded in specific social environments. This book particularly focuses on this aspect, using rich visual materials to recreate a vivid and fantastical scroll of Western history: it was common in 16th-century European hospitals for patients and corpses to share the same bed; the heraldry of funeral companies consisted of urinals and the images of quacks, serving as a brilliant summary of the widespread phenomenon of "" ( translates to "quacks killing people"). For example, the beginning of scientific human anatomy was closely linked to tomb raiding, which also led to a "dissection murder case" in London in the early 19th century: a group of criminals suffocated 16 victims one after another, aiming to disguise the bodies as those obtained from tomb raiding to sell to doctors conducting anatomical experiments. Another anonymous pamphlet reveals the connection between prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases, while a series of genre paintings depict the decline of this "civilized society," subtly showing the relationship between the sex trade and public entertainment venues. Similarly, the photographs of courthouses, gallows, funeral homes, cemeteries, hotels, and theaters, all connected to the medical profession for various reasons, are diverse in nature. From the perspectives of history, society, folklore, religion, and cultural anthropology, they all possess unique value. The collection and interpretation of numerous visual materials, along with the original annotations by collectors and critics, form another distinctive feature of this book. These works range from copies of cave paintings, temple sculptures, and church reliefs to reproductions of ancient advertising posters and rare book illustrations, or the works of renowned artists such as Hogarth, Gilray, Rowlandson, and Hans Holbein. They almost encompass all styles and schools of Western art from prehistory to the 19th century, making them invaluable for art enthusiasts and collectors.