Abstract

AEW Miles, The accidental birth of military medicine: the origins of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Civic Books: London, 2009, 213 pp. ISBN 978-1-904-10495-7, £40.00 (hbk), ISBN 978-1-904-10496-4, £20.00 (pbk)
Reviewed by : Alan EH Emery, Green Templeton College, Oxford, UK. Email: alan.emery@gtc.ox.ac.uk
The origins of military medicine and the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) are related here in a very interesting and well documented way. A number of individuals were involved but two played the most important roles: James McGrigor of the Peninsular War (1808–1813) and Florence Nightingale of the Crimean War (1854–1856). Both had been greatly impressed by the serious needs of wounded soldiers: care, nutrition and particularly the problems associated with poor hygiene. These matters had of course been noted by several others not associated in any way with medicine or the military. For example, Tolstoy comments on the appalling conditions of the wounded troops (Battle of Borodino, 1812) in his novel War and Peace. However, McGrigor and Nightingale examined the problems by enumerating them in detail and subsequently informed the authorities through their reports and the creation of Commissions. Furthermore it was also the time when University College and King’s College London were developing their schools of medicine. These various developments ultimately culminated in the establishment of the Royal Victoria Medical Hospital at Netley. Every ward had its own bathroom with water-closets, and it was the largest hospital in the world at the time it was completed in 1863.
This is a great read and can be highly recommended to anyone with an interest in military history particularly in regard to the RAMC.
An Immodest Proposal - Wine and Health, The Life and Opinions of Giovanni Morelli: Physician, Gentleman (ISBN 978-1-78280-207-5) is an oenological autobiography of a haematologist, Shaun Mc Cann, and is an excellent read and discussion of the delights of Tuscany and other wine-growing areas. In slim paperback form there are many illustrations, some in colour, and a good read.
The Neurological Patient in History is a book edited by Jacyna and Casper and it comes from the University of Rochester Press (ISBN 978-1-58046-412-3). This series of essays tracks the nature of the patient with neurological disorder, with few illustrations but a striking image on the cover of suspension therapy in 1889 for locomotor r ataxia. This book is a good read around the subject and Marjorie Lorch's chapter on the legal aspects of aphasia makes particularly interesting reading for the clinician.
