Exploring American healthcare through 50 historic treasures

1 Unwashed Groins and Child Labor: Cancer in the Early Industrial Age p. 5 --

2 George Washington's Toothbrush p. 9 --

3 Age of the Vaccine p. 13 --

4 No Wrong Way to Eat p. 19 --

5 A Pioneering Operation p. 23 --

6 Healing by a Higher Power p. 27 --

7 Morton's Ether Inhaler and the Advent of Anesthesia p. 31 --

8 Bitters and Irregulars: Alternative Healing in the Nineteenth Century p. 35 --

9 Blood Shed after the Battle: Bleeding Cups p. 41 --

10 Under the Surgeon's Tent: The Physician in the Civil War p. 45 --

11 "Inflammatory Mischief" Meets Antiseptic Techniques p. 49 --

12 Answering the Milk Question p. 53 --

13 Skull Shape and Scientific Racism p. 57 --

14 "Health and Comfort of Body, with Grace and Beauty of Form" p. 61 --

15 East Meets West in the Medicine Cabinet: A Chinese Doctor in America p. 65 --

16 "Cure" That Wasn't p. 69 --

17 Cocaine the Medicine and the Drug p. 73 --

18 Don Pedrito, a Legendary Healer p. 77 --

19 A Wooden Leg in a Mechanized World p. 81 --

20 A Community Doctor's Legacy p. 85 --

21 Carville, the "Louisiana Leper Home" p. 89 --

22 Professional Nurse Only p. 93 --

23 Pandemic of the Century: The 1918 Flu p. 97 --

24 Bubonic Plague Meets Bacteriology p. 101 --

25 Safe, Simple, Sure? The Power of X-Rays p. 105 --

26 "Are You Playing the Health Game?" p. 109 --

27 Problem with "Good" Genes p. 113 --

28 Machinery and Machinations p. 117 --

29 Diabetes: A Fatal Disease Becomes Chronic p. 121 --

30 Tools of a Contested Trade: A Midwife's Kit p. 125 --

31 Sipping on the Sunshine Vitamin p. 129 --

32 Preemie Care beyond the World's Fair p. 133 --

33 Penicillin Revolution p. 137 --

34 Blood Transfusion Comes of Age p. 141 --

35 Insuring and Ensuring Health p. 145 --

36 Nursing at War p. 149 --

37 Science and Politics of Inhaling Dust p. 153 --

38 Health Uplifted, Health Upended p. 157 --

39 DDT: The Double-Edged Sword p. 163 --

40 Iron Lung and the Polio Epidemics p. 167 --

41 Two Eras of Change in Pharmacy p. 171 --

42 More Than a Metaphor: The Straitjacket p. 175 --

43 Changing Ways of Looking at the Gut p. 181 --

44 Pill's New Era of Choice (For Some) p. 185 --

45 Smoking under Scrutiny p. 189 --

46 Ed Roberts and the Independent Living Movement p. 193 --

47 Bypassing the Heart p. 197 --

48 False Hopelessness or False Hope: The Early Years of AIDS p. 201 --

49 September 11 and Emergency Response p. 205 --

50 Saving Lives amid the Opioid Crisis p. 209.