Blood, Guts, and Nasty Cuts

Want to know why Victorian doctors never washed their clothes? Who to call for a bad case of medieval bewitchment? Or how to cure the plague by staring at a toad?

From Leeches to Lasers is a whistle-stop tour of the grisly, glorious, and ingeniously inventive history of medicine, all the way from the ancient world right up to the twenty-first century. Immerse yourself in blood, boils, and bandages as you uncover how to treat tumors, battle bacterial infections and rustle up home remedies. Plus, along the way, meet swashbuckling surgeons, mad physicians, cunning lady herbalists, and – most importantly – some very brave patients!

Marvel at how people 4,000 years ago released the potential power of poo transplants, and how leeches are still being let loose on patients today. See the most cutting-edge science put to work today – whether it's robot surgeons, super-strong materials, or sneaky techniques that can even chop and change your DNA itself!

Dipping into history’s major medical events (move over COVID 19, the Black Plague is here), this book covers ancient operations, medieval maladies, and wartime cures. You’ll uncover the medicine made by mistake, the out-there experimenters who used themselves as test subjects, and how some crazy cures have actually been shown to really work today. It's a journey not for the faint-hearted!Dr. Alanna Skuse is a lecturer in English Literature at the University of Reading, where she specialises in historical writing about the body and medicine. Her previous books include The Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: how to stay alive in Renaissance England.