Charcot: Constructing Neurology Book

Neurology is a relatively new specialty in Medicine. Dr Charcot of Paris France is considered the founder thru his work at the Salpetriere hospital. This books details his life and work. He is the first to classify a lot of neuro diseases, like ALS, MS, etc. He also used a methodology that attempted to correlate clinical presentation with anatomical lesions. (as opposed to Psychiatry in which the 'lesions' were considered part of the mental process, and as opposed to religious interpretations of some diseases like hysteria, which were thought to have supernatural causes). I think he actually thought that the causes of many if not most of these diseases was located in heredity (a view later disputed by many of these 'sporadic' illnesses). His public exposition of female hysterics, and his use of hypnotism caused eyebrows to be raised even back in the 1890's. Most of this work has passed to psychiatry or Las Vagas magicians. (He thought the cure, apparently, for hysteria was pressing on the female ovaries.)

In his time, he was not only a doctor, but a wealthy. well traveled, celebrity doctor like Dr OZ...lol. Anyone interested though in the history of medicine, should find this read absorbing and informative.