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The Butchering Art
Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine
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The Butchering Art
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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Description
The spellbinding story of a visionary British surgeon who changed medicine forever.
In The Butchering Art, historian Lindsey Fitzharris recreates a critical turning point in the history of medicine, when Joseph Lister transformed surgery from a brutal, harrowing practice to the safe, vaunted profession we know today.
Victorian operating theatres were known as 'gateways of death', Fitzharris reminds us, since half of those who underwent surgery didn't survive the experience. This was an era when a broken leg could lead to amputation, and surgeons were still known to ransack cemeteries to find cadavers. And in squalid, overcrowded hospitals, doctors remained baffled by the persistent infections that kept mortality rates stubbornly high.
At a time when surgery couldn't have been more dangerous, an unlikely figure stepped forwardβJoseph Lister, a young Quaker surgeon. By making the audacious claim that germs were the source of all infectionβand could be treated with antisepticsβhe changed the history of medicine forever. With a novelist's eye for detail, Fitzharris brilliantly conjures up the grisly world of Victorian surgery, revealing how one of Britain's greatest medical minds finally brought centuries of savagery, sawing and gangrene to an end.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Lindsey Fitzharris delivers a compelling narrative rich with vivid and gory details, exploring the transformative impact of Joseph Lister's antiseptic techniques on nineteenth-century surgery. The book is noted for its engaging storytelling and meticulous research, presenting Lister as a pioneering figure in medical history. Critics praise the vividness and energy with which Fitzharris portrays the grisly realities of historical surgery, resulting in a gripping and informative read.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780141983387
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 04 October 2018
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 17.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 197.0mm
Weight: 225g
Pages: 304
About the Author
Lindsey Fitzharris received her doctorate in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford and was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Wellcome Institute. She is the creator of the popular website The Chirurgeon's Apprentice, and she writes and presents the YouTube series Under the Knife. She has written for the Guardian, the Lancet, the New Scientist, Penthouse, the Huffington Post and Medium, and appeared on PBS, Channel 4 UK, BBC and National Geographic.
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