The diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease remains a challenging undertaking as emerging disorders and pandemics are constantly presenting new opposition. Behind the practice of medicine is a treasury of great minds and healers who have endeavored tirelessly at the forefront of disease management. This compelling volume introduces readers to the development of medicine over the centuries and to those intrepid individuals who have dedicated their lives to safeguarding the welfare of people around the world.

Table of contents:

• Ancient medicine and its practitioners
• Medicine in the medieval and Renaissance eras
• The rise of scientific medicine in the 19th century
• Immunology and the 20th-century fight against infectious disease
• Progress in the understanding of disease in the 20th century
• Developments in the understanding of cancer
• Surgery in the 20th century and beyond
• Nursing and influential nurses in history
• Pioneers of modern medicine