The history of medicine is a vast subject, encompassing the whole of humanity in every region of the globe. For millennia, our ancestors have sought to combat disease, relieve pain and postpone the Grim Reaper's inevitable victory, doing so with a fortitude and humour that makes their experiences resonate with us today. In this book packed full of facts from medicine's long and often shocking past, Caroline Rance gives concise introductions to some of the more well-known (and not-so-well-known) episodes, dispelling a few myths and celebrating a few neglected figures along the way.