Curiosities in Medicine

This 2nd edition sheds new light on the curious side of Medical History. Carl Sagan said: ”You have to know the past to understand the present.” This collection of 100 short stories, written by experts in the field, inspires curiosity and provides a detailed look at the History of Medicine.

It investigates many topics, including ancient Egyptian knowledge, the fundamental importance of toothache and how it birthed Anesthesia, and why and when women were allowed to run marathons. The authors report on the background of rubber gloves, the stethoscope and the intraocular lens. Historically important biographies are included, such as those of Arthur Conan Doyle, Napoleon Bonaparte and Claude Monet.

Dr. Sibylle Scholtz, Medical Historian and Associated Senior Research Fellow (Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology, Saarland University, Faculty of Medicine). After studying biology and chemistry at the University of Regensburg, she did her Ph.D. at the University of Heidelberg. Sibylle looks back on many years of experience in the ophthalmic medical device industry. She is internationally known as author of various publications on the history of medicine as well as on ophthalmology, biometry and optics.

Myriam Becker, freelance journalist in the area of medical devices. She has an occupational history of more than 20 years in the Medical Device industry (ophthalmological sector). Myriam has co-authored various publications on the history of medicine. In the area of medical devices, she has published journal articles and co-authored the book "CE-marking for medical devices - A guide through the maze of requirements in Europe".

Throughout her life, Lee MacMorris has had a love of books and the beauty of the English language. After she retired from Civil Service, she returned to university for a Master’s in Library and Information Science and became a research librarian. She retired after 25 years as a research librarian with scientific and engineering companies. For several years, as head of the library at an American ophthalmic medical device company, Lee was responsible for detailed scientific literature searches and supported her global colleagues with their requested publications. Lee´s broad general knowledge, her solid understanding of the world, her great pleasure in books and her feeling for the subtleties of the English language, make her editing a real contribution to articles and books.

Prof. Dr. Achim Langenbucher studied for Electro techniques at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg with the focus on digital signalprocessing and optics from 1986 to 1992, he finished with Diploma degree. From 1992 to 2005 he worked as a scientist at the Department of Ophthalmology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg with Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult G.O.H. Naumann and finished his PhD-degree in 1995. He received his venia legend (Assistant Professor) in 2000. In 2005 he started as an Associate Professor and built-up the division Medical Optics at the Department of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Since 2009 Professor Langenbucher is working as a Full Professor (chairman) at the Medical Faculty of Saarland University in Homburg and initialized the Department of Experimental Ophthalmology, which focuses on research in ophthalmology. His main focuses are the development and optimization of novel optical based diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in ophthalmology, optical simulations, customized optical implants, biometry and IOL power calculation.