The Doctors' Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignác Semmelweis
(Great Discoveries.) By Sherwin B. Nuland. 191 pp., illustrated. New York, Norton, 2003. $21.95. ISBN: 0-393-05299-0
One out of every six women who delivered under the care of doctors and medical students at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus of Vienna died of a mysterious illness. Theories like miasmas and milk-metastasis (a blockage of breast milk that resulted in the redirection of milk into the body) tried to shed light on the mysterious plague, but only pushed answers further into the dark. The Doctor’s Plague chronicles the terror of puerperal fever in the mid-19th century and how it shaped the life of obstetrician Ignac Semmelweis. The mid-19th century was a time of old versus new, and progression against obedience. The story is a recollection of the life and career of a man who in his pursuit to change the world of medicine met severe criticism. His arrogance and inability to cope with failure resulted in alienation from his peers and ultimately his undoing. Contrary to his usual portrayal as the hero, Nuland …show more content…
The Doctor’s Plague has excellent readability which gives the book an appeal to many different audiences. The first chapter recounts the story of a young girl who delivers at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus and is written in a fictional style. This use of fictional writing in a historical context draws the reader in and introduces the setting. This introduction adequately examines the horror of puerperal fever and sets the tone for the remainder of the book. Nuland also produces theories about the life of Semmelweis that were previously not considered. He theorizes that Semmelweis may have suffered from Altheimer’s disease instead of the widely accepted Syphilis theory. He also introduces the idea that Semmelweis likely died at the hands of the staff of the mental asylum where he spent his last few
(Great Discoveries.) By Sherwin B. Nuland. 191 pp., illustrated. New York, Norton, 2003. $21.95. ISBN: 0-393-05299-0
One out of every six women who delivered under the care of doctors and medical students at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus of Vienna died of a mysterious illness. Theories like miasmas and milk-metastasis (a blockage of breast milk that resulted in the redirection of milk into the body) tried to shed light on the mysterious plague, but only pushed answers further into the dark. The Doctor’s Plague chronicles the terror of puerperal fever in the mid-19th century and how it shaped the life of obstetrician Ignac Semmelweis. The mid-19th century was a time of old versus new, and progression against obedience. The story is a recollection of the life and career of a man who in his pursuit to change the world of medicine met severe criticism. His arrogance and inability to cope with failure resulted in alienation from his peers and ultimately his undoing. Contrary to his usual portrayal as the hero, Nuland …show more content…
The Doctor’s Plague has excellent readability which gives the book an appeal to many different audiences. The first chapter recounts the story of a young girl who delivers at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus and is written in a fictional style. This use of fictional writing in a historical context draws the reader in and introduces the setting. This introduction adequately examines the horror of puerperal fever and sets the tone for the remainder of the book. Nuland also produces theories about the life of Semmelweis that were previously not considered. He theorizes that Semmelweis may have suffered from Altheimer’s disease instead of the widely accepted Syphilis theory. He also introduces the idea that Semmelweis likely died at the hands of the staff of the mental asylum where he spent his last few