MEDICINE: The State of the Art

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 1983

For eight areas of medical science: a background overview and a state-of-the-art update. Medical writer Mangel and meal school professor Weisse first cover coronary disease treatment--with an emphasis on surgical techniques such as coronary artery bypass, valve replacements, and transplants. They move on to neonatology--noting that the care of premature babies has advanced light years in a decade, both in terms of our understanding of such grave problems as immature lung function, and in the treatment of those premature infant disorders. They look next at immunology (how the body fights disaese), along with organ transplants and artificial body parts--a related topic because the body's immune defenses must be silenced after transplant; there are brand new, highly effective medications to fight such rejection, the authors note. Also reported on are advances in cancer treatment (leukemia is, of course, the biggest success story); in microsurgery, gene manipulation, and diagnostic procedures. (The CAT scanner, for instance, is included.) The summaries are clear and reliable--but readers who want a sense of the excitement, on social and scientific fronts, should try James Wasco's Not for Doctors Only (1980).

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dial/Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION