สังคมเพื่อการแบ่งปันความรู้และการศึกษา

The book is divided into chapters covering eight broad areas, among them "Biomedical Science," "Clinical Medicine," "War and Medicine," "Public Health," and "Alternative Medicine." A general introduction notes that medical discoveries are also important social milestones that improve life and sometimes raise complicated ethical issues. A brief essay about the use of primary sources and a chronology appear at the beginning of the book. Each chapter has an introduction explaining the topic. The entries list the source type; primary source; key facts about the source (date, creator, citation, notes about the creator); significance (importance and impact of the events related to the primary source); and further resources. The types of primary source material offered include newspaper and journal articles, letters, images, research reports, hearing transcripts, and excerpts from diaries. They cover a wide range of topics: John Snow's map showing the Broad Street pump as the source of London's 1854 cholera outbreak; Francesco C. Antommarchi's detailed anatomical drawings; Henry A. Blackmun's decision in Roe v. Wade; and Frederick Grant Benting and Charles Herbert Best's article about the internal secretions of the pancreas. A list of sources consulted appears at the end of the book.