I'm one of those squeamish people who practically faint at the sight of blood. But I was still fascinated by Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce by Douglas Starr (call # NAMES 362.1784 STA).
Starting with the 17th century, this book discusses the concept of bloodletting to remove the poisons in the body to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. He talks about the experimental blood transfusions between animals and humans. During WWII, the Germans were racing to improve the quality of transfusions on the battlefield.
Some of the information is very disturbing, but worthwhile to fully appreciate what the medical profession offers to patients today.
c Waterloo Public Library 2007
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