CWritten for the layman, Medicine of Quetzalcoatl focuses on the medicine practiced by the inhabitants of the Aztec Empire. Although the Aztec Empire is long gone, early explorers have preserved the Aztec knowledge. Many of the herbs used by Aztecs are still used today, and quite a few of them are the subject of scientific studies. The goal of the book is to summarize and analyze the scientific evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of these plants, and to show which of these plants could be a potential source for investigational drugs, which may lead to new, science-based treatments. "We poured our hearts and knowledge into this book. We hope our readers are as excited by the ancient medical expertise as we are and perhaps come up with new ways to treat modern diseases". Rene Daniel Medicine of Quetzalcoatl' includes a full alphabetical listing of Aztec medicinal plants, a bibliography and a full plant index.

Reproduction of the original: The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft by Hubert Howe Bancroft

Draws on cosmological phenomena of the modern world as well as the author's own research into shamanic and metaphysical belief systems to support the Mayan theory about an unprecedented global shift predicted for the year 2012.

A witch doctor casting an evil spell in a steaming jungle village; a young medical-school graduate cleaning a machete wound in a rat-infested thatched hut; a world-renowned scientist doing research in Mexico City—all were part of the mid-twentieth century medical scene in Mexico, a country of great cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical contrasts. Gordon Schendel, in collaboration with Dr. José Alvarez Amézquita and Dr. Miguel E. Bustamante, relates the history of medicine and public health and welfare in Mexico. This absorbing story begins with a great indigenous culture; continues with Spanish Colonial rule, the unproductive first century of independence from Spain, and the years of revolution; then concentrates on the modern nation. The Aztec civilization evidenced a knowledge of pharmacology and the fundamentals of health far in advance of contemporary European societies. And almost one hundred years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, New Spain boasted a comprehensive "Public Health Administration" and a hospital system that served all classes. However, throughout Mexico's three centuries as a Spanish colony and its first century of independence, millions of its citizens suffered abysmal poverty. Thus when the Republic of Mexico entered its post-Revolutionary era, the majority of its citizens were plagued by superstition, illiteracy, malnutrition, and the other "diseases of the poor." The principal part of this story tells how Mexico attacked these problems, and how in a few short years it became a leader and a model for all Latin America in the fields of medicine and public health and welfare. The book is based on Mr. Schendel's research and observations and on his many interviews with doctors and govemment officials. It will be of interest to the medical profession and to concerned laymen of all nationalities, for it illustrates how a dynamic nation met challenges that all countries of the world, developed and underdeveloped, must face.