Social History of Medicine

<p><em>A Social History of Medicine</em> traces the development of medical practice from the Industrial Revolution right through to the twentieth century.</p><p>Drawing on a wide range of source material it charts the changing relationship between patients and practitioners over this period exploring the impact made by institutional care government intervention and scientific discovery. </p><p>The study illuminates the extent to which medical assistance really was available to patients over the period by focusing on provincial areas and using local sources. It introduces a variety of contemporary medical practitioners some of them hitherto unknown and with fascinating intricate details of their work. The text offers an extensive thematic survey including coverage of:</p><p>* institutions such as hospitals dispensaries asylums and prisons<br>* midwifery and nursing<br>* infections and how changes in science have affected disease control<br>* contraception war and the NHS.</p>