The Story of Medicine

New York: Tudor Publishing Co, 1931. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Hardcover. Fair. [10], 527, [1] pages. Biographical Notes. Index. Name in ink on fep. Ex-library with the usual library markings. Front board partially separated and reglued at spine/hinge. Victor Robinson (16 August 1886, in Ukraine - 15 January 1947) was a physician and medical journalist. He is the author of several medical books, including An Essay on Hasheesh (1910) about cannabis and also founded the journal Medical Life. In 1924 he helped organize the History of Science Society. A collection of his papers is held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Medicine is the science and practice of establishing the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Medicine has been around for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge) frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher and physician would apply bloodletting according to the theories of humorism. In recent centuries, since the advent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science). While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.