Scotland offers almost unique opportunities for medical historians. For a conventional history, there is a rich stock of famous doctors and their discoveries. There are also the contributions of four ancient universities and three equally old colleges of physicians and surgeons. For historians of public health there is the famous struggle against the problems of the industrial revolution and the lives and works of the great sanitary reformers in Glasgow and Edinburgh. For the social historian there are equal opportunities in the diversity of the health care in the Highlands and Lowlands, the rich traditions of Scottish folk medicine and the interactions of Scottish and English medical practice. Much else can be learnt in relating Scotland's great innovative periods to her cultural and political state at the time. It is perhaps surprising therefore that there are no up-to-date accounts of any of these aspects of health and health care in Scotland. . . . there are now many new sources available and new questions to be asked. -from the Introduction In this book, author David Hamilton explores new sources and evaluates the rich history of medicinal practices in Scotland. Thus, for historians both of medicine and of Scotland, this study is necessary to more fully understand the country's history.
