His theory was that we´d be better off if we swapped blood with our neighbors. Alexander Bogdanov saw individualism as a major problem in the early Soviet Union, and thought socialist orientation could be improved by mutual transfusions. Of course, he studied blood transfusion as replacement for lost or defective blood, but also thought it brought about generalized rejuvenation and stimulation of the body. Complications like AIDS and hepatitis were unknown in 1907 when Bogdanov first expounded such notions. "The Struggle for Viability" is a translation of and commentary on Bogdanov´s 1927 book explaining his theories of blood transfusion, and the activity of his institute, the world´s first devoted entirely to blood transfusion. Although better known for his rivalry with Lenin and for his contributions to organizational science, Bogdanov was also a pioneer in Soviet medicine. This is the first time his medical works have appeared in English. Included are a biographical introduction and critique of Bogdanov´s theories, and a history of his institute to the present day.

His theory was that we´d be better off if we swapped blood with our neighbors. Alexander Bogdanov saw individualism as a major problem in the early Soviet Union, and thought socialist orientation could be improved by mutual transfusions. Of course, he studied blood transfusion as replacement for lost or defective blood, but also thought it brought about generalized rejuvenation and stimulation of the body. Complications like AIDS and hepatitis were unknown in 1907 when Bogdanov first expounded such notions. "The Struggle for Viability" is a translation of and commentary on Bogdanov´s 1927 book explaining his theories of blood transfusion, and the activity of his institute, the world´s first devoted entirely to blood transfusion. Although better known for his rivalry with Lenin and for his contributions to organizational science, Bogdanov was also a pioneer in Soviet medicine. This is the first time his medical works have appeared in English. Included are a biographical introduction and critique of Bogdanov´s theories, and a history of his institute to the present day.

Physical Signs in Medicine and Surgery - An Atlas of Rare, Lost and Forgotten Physical Signs: The work for this text began over two decades ago as Dr. Ashley White was researching ancient diseases and their initial presentations for prevention of future pandemic plagues. This evidence based paleopathology research has granted Dr. White access to some of the world’s most sensitive archaeological sites. These locations have been in England, Scotland, North and Central America, Nine additional countries in Europe, Asia - including Russia and China, the Middle East, North and Sub-Sahara Africa, and South America including the Amazon Basin. This comprehensive Atlas was originally conceived for doctors providing needed care in dangerous, rugged and remote situations often created by catastrophe, disasters, epidemics, and military conflicts. It is within these serious environments that this Atlas can assist practitioners find the most obscure and difficult diagnosis where access to x-rays and modern laboratory equipment are often impossible. Designed with a unique reference style of key words tagged to known medical systems the Atlas functions as an easy to use clinical field manual whether in use in an advanced medical care unit or in the harsh realm of the jungle. This extensive compendium of rare medical findings, together with an incredible group of landmark essays make this the most complete Atlas of physical signs ever published.

Physical Signs in Medicine and Surgery - An Atlas of Rare, Lost and Forgotten Physical Signs: The work for this text began over two decades ago as Dr. Ashley White was researching ancient diseases and their initial presentations for prevention of future pandemic plagues. This evidence based paleopathology research has granted Dr. White access to some of the world’s most sensitive archaeological sites. These locations have been in England, Scotland, North and Central America, Nine additional countries in Europe, Asia - including Russia and China, the Middle East, North and Sub-Sahara Africa, and South America including the Amazon Basin. This comprehensive Atlas was originally conceived for doctors providing needed care in dangerous, rugged and remote situations often created by catastrophe, disasters, epidemics, and military conflicts. It is within these serious environments that this Atlas can assist practitioners find the most obscure and difficult diagnosis where access to x-rays and modern laboratory equipment are often impossible. Designed with a unique reference style of key words tagged to known medical systems the Atlas functions as an easy to use clinical field manual whether in use in an advanced medical care unit or in the harsh realm of the jungle. This extensive compendium of rare medical findings, together with an incredible group of landmark essays make this the most complete Atlas of physical signs ever published.

Physical Signs in Medicine and Surgery - An Atlas of Rare, Lost and Forgotten Physical Signs: The work for this text began over two decades ago as Dr. Ashley White was researching ancient diseases and their initial presentations for prevention of future pandemic plagues. This evidence based paleopathology research has granted Dr. White access to some of the world’s most sensitive archaeological sites. These locations have been in England, Scotland, North and Central America, Nine additional countries in Europe, Asia - including Russia and China, the Middle East, North and Sub-Sahara Africa, and South America including the Amazon Basin. This comprehensive Atlas was originally conceived for doctors providing needed care in dangerous, rugged and remote situations often created by catastrophe, disasters, epidemics, and military conflicts. It is within these serious environments that this Atlas can assist practitioners find the most obscure and difficult diagnosis where access to x-rays and modern laboratory equipment are often impossible. Designed with a unique reference style of key words tagged to known medical systems the Atlas functions as an easy to use clinical field manual whether in use in an advanced medical care unit or in the harsh realm of the jungle. This extensive compendium of rare medical findings, together with an incredible group of landmark essays make this the most complete Atlas of physical signs ever published.

This book is brilliant and wise, full of unexpected insights, and a delight to read! It is the kind of rare book that only a practicing scientist with a deep awareness of medicine, therapeutics, politics, and societies can write. A materialist framework is critical for understanding the history of any science, and this book is the most astute of any book I have read on the history of medicine. The science of physiology and the art of healing are merged in medicine, and the author truly grasps the significance of both.

Professor Mriganka Sur, PhD FRS
Newton Professor of Neuroscience
Head, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Director, Simons Initiative on Autism and the Brain
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA


Health care is riddled with uncertainties that rarely receive adequate public debate. Daya Varma’s new book, in culling a wide range of scholarship, offers an analysis of why much uncertainty in both Western and Eastern societies relates to multiple approaches to healing. Varma charges us to examine closely why we have different schools of medicine, their origins and roles in society. As conventional scientific medicine becomes more and more expensive and reliant on technology, Varma’s reflections on the origins and sustainability of multiple schools of health care must be part of discussions on the future of health care.

J. K. Crellin MD, PhD
Honorary Research Professor, Memorial University
St. John’s, NL A1B 3V6, Canada

This book is brilliant and wise, full of unexpected insights, and a delight to read! It is the kind of rare book that only a practicing scientist with a deep awareness of medicine, therapeutics, politics, and societies can write. A materialist framework is critical for understanding the history of any science, and this book is the most astute of any book I have read on the history of medicine. The science of physiology and the art of healing are merged in medicine, and the author truly grasps the significance of both.

Professor Mriganka Sur, PhD FRS
Newton Professor of Neuroscience
Head, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Director, Simons Initiative on Autism and the Brain
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA


Health care is riddled with uncertainties that rarely receive adequate public debate. Daya Varma’s new book, in culling a wide range of scholarship, offers an analysis of why much uncertainty in both Western and Eastern societies relates to multiple approaches to healing. Varma charges us to examine closely why we have different schools of medicine, their origins and roles in society. As conventional scientific medicine becomes more and more expensive and reliant on technology, Varma’s reflections on the origins and sustainability of multiple schools of health care must be part of discussions on the future of health care.

J. K. Crellin MD, PhD
Honorary Research Professor, Memorial University
St. John’s, NL A1B 3V6, Canada

This book is brilliant and wise, full of unexpected insights, and a delight to read! It is the kind of rare book that only a practicing scientist with a deep awareness of medicine, therapeutics, politics, and societies can write. A materialist framework is critical for understanding the history of any science, and this book is the most astute of any book I have read on the history of medicine. The science of physiology and the art of healing are merged in medicine, and the author truly grasps the significance of both.

Professor Mriganka Sur, PhD FRS
Newton Professor of Neuroscience
Head, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Director, Simons Initiative on Autism and the Brain
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA


Health care is riddled with uncertainties that rarely receive adequate public debate. Daya Varma’s new book, in culling a wide range of scholarship, offers an analysis of why much uncertainty in both Western and Eastern societies relates to multiple approaches to healing. Varma charges us to examine closely why we have different schools of medicine, their origins and roles in society. As conventional scientific medicine becomes more and more expensive and reliant on technology, Varma’s reflections on the origins and sustainability of multiple schools of health care must be part of discussions on the future of health care.

J. K. Crellin MD, PhD
Honorary Research Professor, Memorial University
St. John’s, NL A1B 3V6, Canada

After the full historical analysis by E. Nicaise, The reader will be amazed by the rich and varied substance of Mondeville’s Preambles, Notables, Contingencies and Generalities, most of which appear in Volume I. They reveal the surgical situation of that era: academia, surgical practice, professionalism versus quackery, physician versus surgeon, surgeon versus surgeon, and more. In that material we discover Mondeville: at once an embittered and yet sweet man, tolerant yet biased, gentle yet harsh, observant and penetrating.

Roger’s name first appeared in writing during the last half of the 12th C, when he was recognized as the premier surgeon in Italy. Since then he has been acknowledged as the leading figure in the rebirth of the art and science of Surgery in western Europe, which had been deprived of it for centuries.

Roland succeeded his acknowledged Master Surgeon, Roger Frugard, early in the 13th C. He re-wrote Roger’s seminal text, and produced the second of the eight great treatises that marked the rebirth of surgery into Europe after centuries of bleak nothingness. Roland’s version of the Rogerina, soon called the Rolandina, was a standard text for students during the ensuing epoch. It was the basis for a serious commentary, The Glosses, by un-identified Four Salernitan Masters, which also had wide fame. Daremberg, a historian of the 19th C discussed the Glosses; his essay provides the conclusion to this English Edition of the Rolandina.

Roger’s name first appeared in writing during the last half of the 12th C, when he was recognized as the premier surgeon in Italy. Since then he has been acknowledged as the leading figure in the rebirth of the art and science of Surgery in western Europe, which had been deprived of it for centuries.

Roland succeeded his acknowledged Master Surgeon, Roger Frugard, early in the 13th C. He re-wrote Roger’s seminal text, and produced the second of the eight great treatises that marked the rebirth of surgery into Europe after centuries of bleak nothingness. Roland’s version of the Rogerina, soon called the Rolandina, was a standard text for students during the ensuing epoch. It was the basis for a serious commentary, The Glosses, by un-identified Four Salernitan Masters, which also had wide fame. Daremberg, a historian of the 19th C discussed the Glosses; his essay provides the conclusion to this English Edition of the Rolandina.

Yperman wrote the first surgical treatise in the common language of his home in Flanders. It was the first by a northern European beyond France. His teacher was Lanfranchi and his contemporary was Henri de Mondeville, both of whom had carried into France the doctrines of the great Italian surgeons, they who had attended the rebirth of surgery in Europe in the High Medieval Era.

After the full historical analysis by E. Nicaise, The reader will be amazed by the rich and varied substance of Mondeville’s Preambles, Notables, Contingencies and Generalities, most of which appear in Volume I. They reveal the surgical situation of that era: academia, surgical practice, professionalism versus quackery, physician versus surgeon, surgeon versus surgeon, and more. In that material we discover Mondeville: at once an embittered and yet sweet man, tolerant yet biased, gentle yet harsh, observant and penetrating.