Diabetes. Its Medical and Cultural History covers the history of scientific inquiry into this affliction from antiquity to the discovery of insulin (1921) with concurrent consideration of the history of the patient and the cultural historical background. The reprints of medical historical studies discuss general relationships as well as specific details and exceptional research achievements of the past. Included in the bibliography of primary sources are the most important historical contributions in diabetic research and diabetic therapy with the author's name and information on the place of publication. The bibliography of secondary literature consolidates international studies from the past century to the present on the history of the theory of diabetes and therapeutic approaches. Illustrations and literary texts document cultural historical relationships. In index of persons and items facilitates use of this work which is intended to provide a stimulus for the physician, medical historian, medical student, general historian as well as diabetics themselves.

Peter Lutz, PhD, brilliantly traverses the major milestones along the evolutionary path of biomedicine from earliest recorded times to the dawn of the 20th century. With an engaging narrative that will have you turning "just one more page" well into the night, this book revealingly demonstrates just how the modern scientific method has been shaped by the past. Along the way the reader is treated to some delightfully obscure anecdotes and a treasure trove of rich illustrations that chronicle the tortuous history of biomedical developments, ranging from the bizarre and amusing to the downright macabre. The reader will also be introduced to the major ideas shaping contemporary physiology and the social context of its development, and also gain an understanding of how advances in biological science have occasionally been improperly used to satisfy momentary social or political needs.