A History of Military Medicine: From ancient times to the Middle Ages

Book excerpt: Richard A. Gabriel and Karen S. Metz have completed this unique two-volume work: the first published comprehensive history of military medicine in the Western world. This first volume deals with the period starting with Sumer (4000 B.C.), and continues with analyses of military medicine in Ancient Egypt (3500 B.C.-350 B.C.), Assyria (911 B.C.-612 B.C.), Israel, Persia, and India (1300 B.C.-100 B.C.), Greece (500 B.C.-147 B.C.), and Rome (753 B.C.-478 A.D.). Also included is a chapter on barbarians, Byzantines, and Islam--ending the first volume with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Since the transfer of information or practices relevant to military medicine were rare in ancient civilizations, this volume examines each civilization as an individual detailed case study. Volume I ends with an overview of military medicine in the ancient world, a bibliography, and a general subject index. Both of these volumes are of considerable value to students and scholars in the disciplines of world history, military studies, and medical history. The Gabriel-Metz undertaking promises to stimulate an intensive re-examination of military medical history.