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$a THE NEW ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL AND HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA THE GREATEST FEARS of man are those of pain, disease, and death. His foremost desires are for happiness, contentment, and good health. It is the intention Of THE NEW ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL AND HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA to promote the happiness, contentment, and good health of its readers, and to eliminate the ignorance and misinformation which have occasioned so many of man`s fears and anxieties over the centuries. THE NEW ILLUSTRATED M,EDICAL AND HEADH ENCYCLOPEDIA COmprises a comprehensive, authoritative, and outspoken, summary of modern medical knowledge. It is written inclecar, new technical fully understandable language, yet contains enough technical-flat be highly useful to those desiring frank, specific, and detailed information. It is not intended as a substitute for competent professionak medical care, but is designed to assist and support amicable doctor-patient relationships and to enable the patient to converse intelligently with his physician concerning the problems which may arise in his own case at one time or another. While the ENCYCLOPEDIA is intended as a general source of medical information for the layman, many physicians and specialists will find it helpful in discussing or explaining individual cases with their patients. It is well-known that an informed patient is both more cooperative and less fearful than one who does not know the causes, of his symptoms or the basis for his treatment. This work answers the many questions one, hesitates or so often forgets to ask his physician. The medical profession wholeheartedly supports the publishers in. this endeavor to dissemiriate authentic medical information to a wider general public. The expansion of medical knowledge in recent times has been truly staggering. More has been learned in the past 100 years about the human body and the diseases which afflict it than in all of previous human history. Within the past generation alone, the discovery of antibiotics, sulfa drugs, antihistamines, vaccines, and other disease-conquering drugs has revolutionized the whole medical field. New medical improvements and discoveries are occurring today at a stupendous pace. Medical research has become one of the most exciting areas of scientific inquiry. It is especially exciting because it augurs for the total elimination of so much of human suffering. Many of the infectious diseases which were formerly among the most dreaded scourges of mankind have already been eradicated from society: diseases such as smallpox, diphtheria, plague, and poliomyelitis. The conquest of many others lies within sight: pneumonia, tuberculosis, syphilis, malaria, dysentery, cholera, hepatitis, leprosy-all still with us today, but now controllable with the use of modern drugs. Most noteworthy of all is the research being conducted in those most basic of all diseases: cancer, and circulatory and heart disorders. These diseases have assumed a pre-eminence in recent years as improved medical treatment has lengthened the average lifespan. Present research in the chemical processes of the body is rapidly expanding our knowledge of the causes of these diseases, and hopes are high for their eventual control. The day is bound to come when the principal cause of death will be simply old age. In the meantime, a sound public health education program, which THE NEW ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL AND HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA IS in tended to assist, will do much to prevent unnecessary suffering and to ameliorate that which does exist. For maximum convenience of use, the entries in this ENCYCLOPEDIA have been arranged in alphabetical order. Numerous cross-references have been included to facilitate the acquisition of all such information as may pertain to any given case. A comprehensive alphabetic index (p. 1373 ff.) provides an instantaneous reference to all medical terms used in the ENCYCLOPEDIA, including many not entered as main titles but discussed in the body of the text.A wealth of interesting photographs has been incorporated as a serviceable adjunct to the text. These include spectacular pictures of actual open heart surgery, of kidney dialysis, and of high-pressure oxygen therapy. Others depict the manufacture of antibiotics, developments in sophisticated electronic medical equipment, and innovations in the design of incubators for the care of premature infants. The miraculous processes of birth are strikingly illustrated by graphic reproductions of the famous DickinsonBellskie anatomical models of a developing embryo. An unusual series of photographs concerning the medical care of our astronauts has been included as a feature of interest. In addition to the photographs, there are useful charts on the guidance, development, and care of children and on ideal weight averages. The fourteen pages of charts on child care will be of invaluable assistance to all parents and child guidance counselors. A unique constituent Of THE NEW ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL AND HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA is its remarkable series of MEDIGRAPHS. These are clear comprehensible diagrammatic representations of the commonest ailments and disorders with collateral descriptions in a lucid streamlined style. The reader can readily obtain from these medigraphs the information he requires in a handy capsule form. The diagrams afford a vivid visual complement to the associated textual explanations. Much new material has been added not included in previous editions of the ENCYCLOPEDIA. This includes authentic information on the various methods of birth control and contraception, and topical material on the promising field of organ transplantations. New entries on such subjects as dental research, oxygen therapy, post-natal care of the mother, snakebite, and space medicine have been incorporated. Many other entries, such as those at eye, skin, reproduction system, and mental and emotional health have been greatly expanded. An exhaustive description of diseases due to industrial poisonings has been included under the entry occupational hazards in industry. Every effort has been expended by the publishers to make this ENCYCLOPEDIA the most complete, thorough, and serviceable reference source on medicine and disease for use by the layman. Full and candid discussions are devoted to such critical topics as child care, puberty, menstruation, feminine hygiene, sex education, masturbation, and homosexuality. Extensive space is allotted to the problems of older people under such entries as aging, senescence, geriatrics, menopause, and middle age change, in men. Frank coverage is given to all the venereal diseases: syphilis, gonorrhea, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale. Another notable feature is the exhaustive treatment accorded to the problems of weight, in such entries as obesity, underweight, hazards of, and weight, factors which influence. Also included are extensive commentaries on all the major mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, paranoia, manic-depressive psychosis, involutional melancholia, and neurosis. The serious problems of mental retardation are discussed at feeblemindedness, cretinism, myxedema, and Down`s syndrome. Especially important and valuable is the intensive coverage given to diseases of the heart and circulatory system and to the serious problem of cancer. This is particularly significant in view of the fact that these have now become the leading causes of death, both in the United States and in many other countries. In addition to enumerating the causes and symptoms of the manifold diseases which afflict mankind, THE NEW ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL AND HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA contains extensive information on their treatment. Most of the drugs now in use in medicine are discussed as to their purposes and effects: for example, Ayerst, Inderal, and Isordil, used collectively in the treatment of angina pectoris
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