New Medical Challenges during the Scottish Enlightenment

Having conducted the bulk of his research in Edinburgh, Risse (emeritus, history of health sciences, U. of California at San Francisco) presents nine papers exploring a variety of topics related to medicine and health during the Scottish Enlightenment. The papers begin with institutional questions, examining the foundation, governance, and economy of the Edinburgh Infirmary and surveying the activities and institutional evolution of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. Topics of health and disease are considered in papers on Enlightenment ideology and the rise of consumer society in the medical recommendations of William Cullen (1710-1790), the ecological history of "ague" (malaria) in the Scottish lowlands, and the social construction of lead poisoning. The relationship (or lack of relationship) between medical theory and practice comes under scrutiny in papers reconstructing the framework of clinical knowledge at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the year 1770-1800, the social and cultural contexts of 18th century gynecology, and shifting constructions of hysteria and hypochondriasis. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Guenter B. Risse is Professor Emeritus of the History of Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle.