Health

A Second-Rate System
Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business-and Bad Medicine
by Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele
It was billed as a Garage Sale for Mason. By the time all the donations had come in, no garage could hold them. So the clothes, toys, old appliances, tools, car accessories-everything-were loaded onto a church moving van and carted to an open lot next

Prologue
The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria
by Michael Shnayerson, Mark J. Plotkin
A battle is taking place on the frontiers of medicine between rapidly evolving bacteria that threaten our health and the doctors who are struggling to outwit them. These bacteria are everywhere: in and on our bodies, in homes, schools, hospitals, crowded

Gorgon's Blood
Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood
by Bill Hayes
The first drop stains the pale, clammy flesh. It's as if the skinned potato, not my sliced finger, is bleeding. Were the cut anywhere else on my body I'd have it under the faucet by now or washed with soap, yet I persist in sucking it.

Robots Helping Surgeons: The da Vinci and ZEUS Surgical System
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Robot-assisted surgery is the latest development in the larger movement of endoscopy, a type of minimally invasive surgery--the idea being that less invasive procedures translate into less trauma and pain for patients.

The Mouth as Body's Mirror
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Approximately 20 percent of visits to the doctor are because of mouth or throat complaints. But by peering into the mouth the doctor may discover more than a strep infection or a canker sore.

The Gallbladder - An Organ You Can Live Without
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Laser surgery and other therapies have simplified treating ailing gallbadders. And though gallbadder removal appears to be on the decline, if it's necessary you're fine without this organ. The gallbladder is a small, muscular, pear-shaped sac nestled

Outlines of Greek and Roman Medicine
by James Sands Elliott
The origin of the healing art in Ancient Rome is shrouded in uncertainty. The earliest practice of medicine was undoubtedly theurgic, and common to all primitive peoples. The offices of priest and of medicine-man were combined in one person

Flea and Tick Bites
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Fleas are truly devoted to their work. In one day, a single flea can bite your cat or dog more than 400 times. During that same day, the flea can consume more than its body weight of your pet's blood.

X-Ray, MRI, CT Scan : Radiation as Healer
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
While healthy people try to avoid extra doses of radiation, patients with many different kinds of cancer can turn the cell-destroying property of radiation to their benefit. According to the National Cancer Institute, at least half of cancer patients

Preventing Blood Clots in the Legs
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Clotting the blood is 'nature's way of trying to prevent bleeding,' says Wolf Sapirstein, M.D., a cardiologist at the Food and Drug Administration. But when nature's protective mechanism overcompensates and precautions aren't taken, there is a danger

Keeping Pets and People Healthy : Toxoplasmosis, Salmonellosis, Ringworm
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Cats may be carriers of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite causing the disease toxoplasmosis. Direct contact with cat feces is one possible route of human infection, but toxoplasmosis is more likely to spread to people through eating raw or undercooked meat.

Vitality Supreme
by Bernarr Macfadden
Vitality first of all means endurance and the ability to live long. It naturally indicates functional and organic vigor. You cannot be vital unless the organs of the body are possessed of at least a normal degree of strength and are performing

Maintaining Health
by R. L. Alsaker
Writings on hygiene and health have been accessible for centuries, but never before have books and magazines on these subjects been as numerous as they are today. Most of the information is so general, vague and indefinite that only a few have the time

Susie
Susie & Herman : A Story of Love and Caregiving
by L. B. Smith
Dementia-for many there is no disease is more tragic- there are no physical symptoms of this disease; no need for hospital stays, no need for intrusive chemical therapy ... the mind just slowly slips away.

Hip Resurfacing, Knee Replacement Surgery
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
An alternative to total hip replacement is an operation called hip resurfacing. Unlike the prostheses used in total hip replacement, which are made to replace the femoral head, resurfacing prosthesis designs allow the head to be preserved and reshaped.

Life Support: When Machines Do the Breathing
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Like the iron lungs of the past, ventilators take over for the lungs in seriously ill or injured patients. But, unlike the past, today's devices are much smaller and many can be used in the home.

The Evolution of Modern Medicine
by William Osler
This work, composed originally for a lay audience and for popular consumption, will be to the aspiring medical student and the hardworking practitioner a lift into the blue, an inspiring vista or 'Pisgah-sight' of the evolution of medicine

Keeping Pets and People Healthy : Worms
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Pets occupy an esteemed place in many of our households, often being treated as members of the family. They offer a source of amusement, pleasure, and companionship. They provide opportunities for outdoor exercise and socialization.

Treating and Preventing Venomous Snake Bites
by US Department of Health and Human Services
Twenty kinds of poisonous snakes inhabit the United States (except for Maine, Alaska and Hawaii), and coping with a bite from any one of them is no picnic. There are ways to prevent getting bitten, however, and effective treatment if prevention fails.

Scientist and Mechanic
Another Day in the Frontal Lobe
by Katrina S. Firlik, M.D.
The brain is soft. Some of my colleagues compare it to toothpaste, but that's not quite right. It doesn't spread like toothpaste. It doesn't adhere to your fingers the way toothpaste does.