Physick to Physiology

A murder in Main Quad, a near demise high on Mont Blanc, the lady who survived hanging and became a celebrity, Lord Nuffield's dreadful visits to the dentist, and the surgeon who operated on his own hernia using strychnine: all pointers to medical mysteries and advances. This book aims to entertain and inform the reader interested in the advancement of medical science. The author presents seven distinct areas of endeavour in which he has been involved during an Oxford career undertaking original research in engineering, materials science, anaesthesia and physiology while working as a tutor and practising doctor. Each topic is presented and illustrated with novel insights from a historical and often fascinating background extending up to medical controversies of the present day. A final section takes a personal look at the factors which contribute to Oxford's extraordinary ability to nurture medical science.