The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity (The Norton History of Science)

Still, for all of the transformations wrought by the masterful new engines of medicine and by their multitudinous varieties of fuel, there is one singular ingredient of the art of healing that should not be allowed to vanish. That ingredient, so basic and so changeless, is a relationship; it takes place in the quiet surroundings of the sickroom or

“began to inspire greater confidence not because they could suddenly cure infectious diseases, but because they seemed better able to explain and prevent them.”

Religious concerns had to be overcome, and physicians who believed pain was necessary for healing had to be enlightened. What’s more, a new mindset had to arise in both physicians and patients that consciousness could be safely altered in this new and unimagined way.

Amputations, with or without anaesthetic, were a common procedure for bone fractures that would be easily treated in Western hospitals.

It is quite clear from books and documents written during the 19th century that a number of physicians were aware that poor living conditions, which included a lack of sanitation and drainage, as well as a lack of fresh water and personal cleanliness, were important factors in the causation of smallpox.