Medicine

Rebecca Vickers

Description

Have you ever wondered what went wrong when inventions, structures and technology failed spectacularly? This series provides exciting, cross-curricular, high interest reads into ideas and projects from around the world that did not work as planned.

Informations

• Publié par: Capstone Global Library
• Date de parution: 15 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781406255379
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 14 Mo

Extrait

From Fail to Win! Learning from Bad Ideas

MEDICINE

Reeççà Viçkers

Raintree is an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales having its registered office at 7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB – Registered company number: 6695582

Text © Capstone Global Library Limited 2011 First published in hardback in 2011 The moral rights of the proprietor have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS (www.cla.co.uk). Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission should be addressed to the publisher.

Edited by Andrew Farrow and  Vaarunika Dharmapala Designed by Richard Parker Picture research by Mica Brancic Originated by Capstone Global Library Ltd Printed and bound in China by South China  Printing Company Ltd

ISBN 978 1 406 21767 4 (hardback) 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Vickers, Rebecca. From fail to win : learning from bad ideas. Medicine. 610.2’8dc22 A full catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce photographs: Alamy pp.13(© Feije Riemersma),34(© Interfoto),41(© The Print Collector); Corbis pp.5(© Peter M. Fisher),8 (BSIP/© B. Boissonnet),9(© Bettmann),17(© Bettmann),19(cultura/© Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy),21(© Bettmann),26(dpa/© dpa ),28(© Bettmann),31(© Image Source),27(© Richard T. Nowitz),37(© EdKashi2004); Getty Images pp.6 (The Bridgeman Art Library/M. Albik),15(Hulton Archive/Fox Photos/Harry Shepherd),20(Time Life Pictures/Stan Wayman),23(AFP/Dieter Nagl), 25(The Bridgeman Art Library/Gaston Melingue), 33(Time Life Pictures/Mansell),36(General Photographic Agency),39(De Agostini Picture Library),43(AFP Photo/Torsten Blackwood),44 (The Bridgeman Art Library/Theodor Rombouts), 47(Hulton Archive),49(Hulton Archive/Gemma Levine); Science & Society Picture Library p. 29(Daily Herald Archive at the National Media Museum); Science Photo Library p.40(Sheila Terry); Wellcome Library, London pp.10(Wellcome Images),42(Wellcome Images).

Cover photograph of a bedridden patient accompanied by a nurse, on the roof of Albert Dock Hospital, overlooking Docklands, 22 September 1938 reproduced with permission of Getty Images (Fox Photos).

We would like to thank Ann Fullick for her invaluable help in the preparation of this book.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publisher.

Disclaimer All the Internet addresses (URLs) given in this book were valid at the time of going to press. However, due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have changed or ceased to exist since publication. While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher.

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Lessons leàrne................................................................................ 4 Urine: from guesswork to là work.................................................. 6 The Chàmerlen forçeps: à çàse of professionàl jeàlousy .............. 9 Fresh-àir treàtments ....................................................................... 12 Lootomies: eàçtivàting the ràin ............................................... 16 Thàliomie: phàrmàçeutiçàl fàilure ........................................... 20 Vàççines: experimenting on pàtients............................................. 24 Ràium àn ràioàçtive treàtments............................................... 28 Deàth àn irty oçtors ................................................................. 32 Miàsmà: çlous of iseàse.............................................................. 38 Toàçço: from çure-àll to kill-àll ................................................... 44 Timeline ........................................................................................ 50 Glossàry.......................................................................................... 52 Fin out more................................................................................ 54 Inex .............................................................................................. 56

Any wors àppeàring in the text in ol,like this, àre explàine in the glossàry

Lessons learned

In the pàst, when oçtors quàlifie to pràçtise meiçine, they swore à speçiàloathknown às the Hippoçràtiç Oàth. Toày, màny oçtors sweàr à moern version of this. They màke promises àout how they will perform their uties. Hippoçràtes, the ànçient Greek oçtor for whom the oàth wàs nàme, sài, “First, o no hàrm.” This seems ovious – oçtors àn the methos they use àre suppose to màke people feel etter or to çure them.

However, things on’t àlwàys go às plànne. In meiçine, às in other fiels, knowlege improves over time. New isçoveries àre màe àn ol ieàs hàve to e isçàre. Sometimes, though, inçorreçt theories eçome àççepte àn àre put into àçtion, or other mistàkes àre màe. In meiçine this çàn leà to people eingmisdiagnosed, suffering unneçessàrily, àn even ying.

This ook çovers 10 àreàs where the meiçàl profession got it wrong, whàt hàppene, àn the lessons thàt were leàrne. In some çàses, leàrning from these fàilures hàs pushe forwàr the frontiers of meiçine àn le to suççesses, improve unerstàning, àn treàtments thàt hàve sàve lives.

Why do things go wrong? Three of the main reasons why doctors get things wrong are: • Lack of knowledge. In the past, mistakes were made or the wrong path was followed because medical and scientiîc knowledge had not developed enough to understand a condition or treatment. • Faulty research. When a new medical theory, procedure, or treatment is being developed, research takes place to make sure the idea is correct or the treatment is safe. When this research isn’t done properly there can be dangerous consequences. • Human error. Sometimes people make mistakes. When doctors make mistakes, the results can be deadly.

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