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Bodies Politic: Disease, Death and Doctors in Britain, 1650–1900 Roy Porter, Reaktion Books Ltd., London, 2001, 328 pages, ISBN 1 86189 094 X (Hardback), £25
212
Book reviews
to all those who possess the previous editions of this book and to all newcomers in the muscle arena. Marianne de Visser Department of Neurology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
out this well-referenced book. Though the colour illustrations are good, the black-and-white illustrations are less well reproduced. Otherwise this is an excellent and very valuable addition to the literature of medical history which I am sure many, like me, will find a source of great interest.
PII: S09 60- 8966(01)0029 7-8
Alan E.H. Emery Exeter, UK PII: S0 960-8966(01 )00 298-X
Bodies Politic: Disease, Death and Doctors in Britain, 1650–1900 Roy Porter, Reaktion Books Ltd., London, 2001, 328 pages, ISBN 1 86189 094 X (Hardback), £25 Roy Porter explains in this, his latest in a series on Medical History, that he now turns his attention from written to more visual evidence in the subject. Specifically he covers the period of the 18th and 19th century of British Medicine as portrayed largely in the earlier periods through the works of Hogarth, Cruikshank, Rowlandson and Gillray, all of whom produced etchings and water-colours often ridiculing and satirising either the medical profession itself or the innocent gullibility of their patients. In separate chapters he considers in much detail the then current views of the human body as being either an object of beauty and veneration by the Church and many classical artists, or as vile and grotesque when viewed as a reflection of disease. The practitioners of medicine and surgery as well as their patients are profiled. Porter argues interestingly that practitioners were often viewed by the population at the time as being no more than players in the social scene. There were no effective treatments (other than emetics, purgatives, and blood-letting) and the physical examination of patients did not become standard practice until the mid19th century. Outside Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh, university-trained doctors were very much the exception before the 18th century and most gained their skills (if any) by apprenticeship and lacked any formal scientific training. Their machinations were therefore seized upon and ridiculed, their antics often being seen as buffoonery. The popular view of insanity as a source of interest and amusement began to change when the Bethlem Hospital’s doors were finally closed to the curious in 1770, and just 13 years later the spectacle of public executions in England ceased. By the mid-19th century medical practitioners were not only better trained but were also beginning to offer effective treatments for certain conditions. Their role in society began to change and they became more renowned for their skills. This is reflected in the changed way they began to be portrayed in books and articles of the time. These matters are all examined carefully and in much detail by Porter whose erudition is clearly evident through-
The Cerebral Palsies, G. Miller &, G. Clark, 1998, 400 pp. £60. ISBN 0 7506 9964 7 This is a multi-author text concerning the origins, nature and management of cerebral palsy. The book is made up of 14 chapters from several clinical disciplines providing wide ranging insights into the various aspects of this condition. The authors are almost entirely from the United States apart from Linda de Vries from The Netherlands. Cerebral palsy is a difficult subject to address; it is an illdefined clinical syndrome encompassing a wide range of neurological deficits and has many causes. For this reason it is difficult to imagine a textbook which can deal with the subject comprehensively and appeal to a universal readership. This book is directed towards paediatricians and clinical specialists involved in the care of disabled children. Its intent and appeal are largely clinical. One chapter in particular provides a more detailed scientific background to the subject, that dealing with brain development; normal and abnormal. This is an excellent overview of the subject. It describes in detail the processes of normal brain development with the aid of excellent diagrams, but keeps in touch with clinical practice with numerous brain scans illustrating particular conditions resulting from malformation of the brain leading to neurological disability. The pathological substrate is not illustrated. Nonetheless this is an informative contribution, detailed and well referenced. The chapter on ultrasound assessment of the developing brain by Linda de Vries is extremely well illustrated and informative. It is up-to-date and well referenced. Other chapters tend to be more patchy, some detailed, relevant and beautifully illustrated while others are tired and out of date, with old references. Cerebral palsy continues to be a major problem in our society. The incidence is not falling despite changes in obstetric and neonatal practice, and indeed it is rising in those very low birth weight infants who now survive thanks to innovations in care. We need to understand the impact of such care on surviving infants, the relationship between
Book reviews
to all those who possess the previous editions of this book and to all newcomers in the muscle arena. Marianne de Visser Department of Neurology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
out this well-referenced book. Though the colour illustrations are good, the black-and-white illustrations are less well reproduced. Otherwise this is an excellent and very valuable addition to the literature of medical history which I am sure many, like me, will find a source of great interest.
PII: S09 60- 8966(01)0029 7-8
Alan E.H. Emery Exeter, UK PII: S0 960-8966(01 )00 298-X
Bodies Politic: Disease, Death and Doctors in Britain, 1650–1900 Roy Porter, Reaktion Books Ltd., London, 2001, 328 pages, ISBN 1 86189 094 X (Hardback), £25 Roy Porter explains in this, his latest in a series on Medical History, that he now turns his attention from written to more visual evidence in the subject. Specifically he covers the period of the 18th and 19th century of British Medicine as portrayed largely in the earlier periods through the works of Hogarth, Cruikshank, Rowlandson and Gillray, all of whom produced etchings and water-colours often ridiculing and satirising either the medical profession itself or the innocent gullibility of their patients. In separate chapters he considers in much detail the then current views of the human body as being either an object of beauty and veneration by the Church and many classical artists, or as vile and grotesque when viewed as a reflection of disease. The practitioners of medicine and surgery as well as their patients are profiled. Porter argues interestingly that practitioners were often viewed by the population at the time as being no more than players in the social scene. There were no effective treatments (other than emetics, purgatives, and blood-letting) and the physical examination of patients did not become standard practice until the mid19th century. Outside Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh, university-trained doctors were very much the exception before the 18th century and most gained their skills (if any) by apprenticeship and lacked any formal scientific training. Their machinations were therefore seized upon and ridiculed, their antics often being seen as buffoonery. The popular view of insanity as a source of interest and amusement began to change when the Bethlem Hospital’s doors were finally closed to the curious in 1770, and just 13 years later the spectacle of public executions in England ceased. By the mid-19th century medical practitioners were not only better trained but were also beginning to offer effective treatments for certain conditions. Their role in society began to change and they became more renowned for their skills. This is reflected in the changed way they began to be portrayed in books and articles of the time. These matters are all examined carefully and in much detail by Porter whose erudition is clearly evident through-
The Cerebral Palsies, G. Miller &, G. Clark, 1998, 400 pp. £60. ISBN 0 7506 9964 7 This is a multi-author text concerning the origins, nature and management of cerebral palsy. The book is made up of 14 chapters from several clinical disciplines providing wide ranging insights into the various aspects of this condition. The authors are almost entirely from the United States apart from Linda de Vries from The Netherlands. Cerebral palsy is a difficult subject to address; it is an illdefined clinical syndrome encompassing a wide range of neurological deficits and has many causes. For this reason it is difficult to imagine a textbook which can deal with the subject comprehensively and appeal to a universal readership. This book is directed towards paediatricians and clinical specialists involved in the care of disabled children. Its intent and appeal are largely clinical. One chapter in particular provides a more detailed scientific background to the subject, that dealing with brain development; normal and abnormal. This is an excellent overview of the subject. It describes in detail the processes of normal brain development with the aid of excellent diagrams, but keeps in touch with clinical practice with numerous brain scans illustrating particular conditions resulting from malformation of the brain leading to neurological disability. The pathological substrate is not illustrated. Nonetheless this is an informative contribution, detailed and well referenced. The chapter on ultrasound assessment of the developing brain by Linda de Vries is extremely well illustrated and informative. It is up-to-date and well referenced. Other chapters tend to be more patchy, some detailed, relevant and beautifully illustrated while others are tired and out of date, with old references. Cerebral palsy continues to be a major problem in our society. The incidence is not falling despite changes in obstetric and neonatal practice, and indeed it is rising in those very low birth weight infants who now survive thanks to innovations in care. We need to understand the impact of such care on surviving infants, the relationship between