Review: 'The Western Medical Tradition, 1800 to 2000'

The authors are faculty at the Wellcome Trust Centre at UCL, which has contributed immensely to our expanding knowledge of medical history. …

Geographically, "the West" is mainly northwestern Europe and North America, although the authors do not ignore other parts of the world, notably Russia/the Soviet Union, especially in the 20th century. All the legendary names of medicine (and many lesser-known ones) are presented. …

The authors discuss an astonishing (and one must confess, occasionally overwhelming) array of developments in pathology, surgery, obstetrics, and midwifery, as well as in scientific and medical instrumentation, cell theory, germ theory, immunology, medical genetics, and molecular biology. They trace the development of specialization in medicine, professional nursing, modernization of hospitals, the evolution of medical education, ethics, and the establishment of various organizations and institutes. …

Clinical and experimental research revolutionized ideas about the human body and its ailments. It changed the nature of the Western medical tradition itself. But exactly what constituted this tradition, this body of empowering knowledge? Indeed, as Cook asks in the Introduction, "perhaps we should even ask, 'is there a Western medical tradition?'" The books' authors stress that the Western medical tradition is largely "invented" (much as are nationalist traditions) and that it has evolved markedly over time and been used for different purposes by different groups. …

The authors of The Western Medical Tradition pointedly reject a linear, progressive view of medical history. They paint a picture of medical history, warts and all, and demonstrate a nuanced sense of how socioeconomic, political, cultural, and racial realities have influenced modern medical theory and practice. …

Western medicine advanced in tandem with science but also with the secularized, industrialized, bureaucratized, and commercialized world we now inhabit. The results have often worked to improve and lengthen human lives, but the intentions and outcomes have not always been benevolent or benign. …

The authors' critical approach to the Western medical tradition is not new but it is good to see it informing a work of such encyclopaedic scope, one that could easily have degenerated into a mere laundry list of modern medical developments. …

The Western Medical Tradition, 1800-2000 is too long and complex for a casual read, but it is an excellent reference tool. …

Peter McCandless, 'Journal of the American Medical Association'