Medicine In America Essay -- essays research papers

James Cassedys Medicine in America, A Short storey takes a comprehensive look at checkup progress in America from its colonial days to the present time. The book takes on volt divergent themes in discussing medicine. First, it discusses the aesculapian establishment, and how it develops over time. Second, it looks at the alternative to establish medicine. Alternatives consist of any kind of medical practice outside the Jewish-Orthodox practice of the time. Third, Cassedy explores the science of medicine, taking time to recognize individuals who make probative discoveries in the field of medicine. The role of government in science is the twenty-five percent theme studied by Cassedy. The government makes considerable efforts into the regulation of medical practice in America. The final theme is the role of the environment in the health of Americans. In covering these themes, Cassedy breaks American history into four different time periods. The book will best be reviewed by f lavour at each of these time periods, and how they cover the aforementioned themes. Logically, the book begins by discussing the period of time that America is under the control of Britain. The first inhabitants of the innocent took a beating from diseases carried by Europeans. inborn Americans did not have the immunities instilled in Europeans. Disease is accredited to wiping out nearly 90 percent of Native Americans. The colonies, however, also had to deal with diseases. Very few physicians lived in the colonies due to the situation that Britain was still the mother country. With the medical establishment being as venial as it was, the women of the household often took care of the day to day healing. Midwives handled childbirths, and fundamentally anyone with any knowledge of medical literature was considered capable of healing. Some of the familiar treatments included steam baths, religious rights, and herbal remedies. Surgical methods were basically hold in to that of sett ing bones and pulling teeth. Realizing that sanitation was a problem, larger towns at long last began to pass regulations on the removal of garbage and dead animals. Health think science was circulated by means of periodicals. Along with being a indorser to medicine as a scientist, Benjamin Franklin often published medical information in his newspapers. A strong supporter of inoculation, the Reverend cotton Mather frequently wrote about medic... ...lear weapons and the affects of radiation. The AIDS epidemic is an example of a unexampled day disease that prompts massive government funded research and public awareness. The medical establishment now is maintained by such organizations as the American Medical Association (A.M.A). The emergence of effective medicine gave way to more than success and trust in the American medical institution. Current onward motion in medicine, however, tends to be tainted by the glory of discovery. While Orthodox medicine continues to flourish, people still tend to seek unorthodox methods of healing, such as acupuncture. All things considered, medicine in America has made dramatic improvements since its colonial days. James Cassedy has made an excellent overview of the history of medicine in America. Granted that this book will not win any literary awards in the near future, it is still a well-written tool in root word ones research of medicine. He presents his topics in a elan that makes them interesting, and causes readers to question the past of their medical culture. His choice of themes leaves little to be desired, and he thoroughly discusses each of them in relation to his specified time intervals.