Main description:

This book examines the events, issues, and developments in American medicine and healthcare throughout the 20th century and identifies the effects on both patients and practitioners.

The history of medicine is more than just the methods of curing disease and the evolving understanding of the human body: it addresses what our society has come to expect of medicine, and why; and what the human experience of health care constitutes. This book focuses on the experience of 20th-century medicine for patients and practitioners within the historical context of the major advancements in medicine, wellness, and medical care.

The chapters provide thorough coverage of the history of medicine, illness, and health care in the last century but also highlight the impact of events-and resultant change in particular-on Americans confronting the health care system. The topics are broadly defined so as to include discussion of both public health and popular culture, addressing questions such as: Why are we a nation of hand washers? How could our state legislatures-and ultimately the United States Supreme Court-condone the forced sterilization of women? Why has the debate over health care costs and responsibilities remained such a contested issue in American society for over a century?

* Serves as a comprehensive base for student research as well as a resource for general readers on the social history of 20th-century American medicine

* Provides informative and approachable text free from medical and historical jargon

* Underscores the day-to-day, lived experience of medicine in the 20th century, from both patients' and practitioners' viewpoints

* Includes fascinating images that support the text, such as an army medical manual on venereal disease and a toothpaste ad from the 1920s