Jacalyn Duffin's History of Medicine is one of the leading texts used to teach the history of the medical profession. Emphasizing broad concepts rather than names and dates, it has also been widely appreciated by general readers for more than twenty years. Based on sound scholarship and meticulous research, History of Medicine incorporates pithy examples from a range of periods and places and is infused with the author’s characteristic wit.

The third edition has been completely revised to highlight new scholarship on the past and incorporate significant medical events of the most recent decade – including new technologies, drug shortages, medical assistance in dying, and recent outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Ebola, H1N1, Zika, and COVID-19. The book is organized around themes of scientific and clinical interest, such as anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, surgery, obstetrics, medical education, health-care delivery, and public health. It includes a chapter on how to approach research in medical history, updated with new resources. History of Medicine is sensitive to the power of historical research to inform current health-care practice and enhance cultural understanding.

Jacalyn Duffin is a haematologist and historian who is Professor in the Hannah Chair of the History of Medicine at Queen`s University.

Jacalyn Duffin's profile page

"A rollicking ride through the history of medicine ... Each chapter represents the tried-and-true teaching methods of the author ... [these], combined with the author's lucid writing style and often humorous approach, made me envious of Duffin's students."

<em>Isis</em>

"The facts are often fascinating and the prose is lively and accessible, guaranteeing interesting reading even for those on the receiving end of the stethoscope."

<em>Quill and Quire</em>

"The first readers of this History of Medicine should be medical students. As the director of a history of medicine program I welcome this book, for at last I have a good textbook to recommend ... It should be bought by, or better still, presented to each Canadian medical student as a reward for acceptance into medical school."

<em>Canadian Medical Association Journal</em>

"Duffin's book is not only concise but also entertaining and enlightening ... a valuable, good-natured overview of a large topic that challenges everyone who teaches the history of medicine to do a better job."

<em>Journal of the History of Medicine</em>

"This book is a superbly crafted volume readily accessible to the medical students for whom it was intended but equally rewarding to historians of all stripes for its wide-ranging and insightful discussions of the development of medicine from antiquity to Ebola and AIDS ... a reminder of the splendor and fascination of healing and its lengthy and compelling history."

<em>Canadian Bulletin of Medical History</em>

"As a textbook it is not scandalously short, but great, concise, and straightforward. Recommended!"

<em>Journal of Norwegian Medical Association</em>