War and Medicine

Book excerpt: "This illustrated book is published to coincide with the exhibition War and Medicine, organised by Wellcome Collection, London, in collaboration with the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden. It explores the complex and fascinating relationship between war and medicine, and the ways in which they have influenced each other throughout the modern period. As civilisations develop more sophisticated and destructive technologies with which to wage war, medicine evolves to meet the needs of resulting casualties. This in turn informs advances in civilian medicine and social policy. War and Medicine charts this complex process and the ethical, political and personal issues raised." "From the sometimes counterintuitive and ethically challenging principles of triage, to the recent arguments over whether and how post-traumatic stress can be clinically diagnosed, it reveals how humankind's desire to repair and heal has tried, with varying degrees of success, to keep pace with its capacity to maim and kill. The result is an engrossing history of war and medicine in the modern era."--BOOK JACKET.