Dealing with Medical Uncertainty in and Through the History of Medicine

This book examines the history of medicine as a sub-discipline within the medical humanities and its possible contributions to dealing with medical uncertainty. It investigates how the history of medicine reduced intolerance for ambiguity among medical students in the past, and can continue to do so today. Using several case studies, the second part of this volume illustrates the long-term and varied nature of questions of uncertainty in the history of medical practice. Starting with concrete examples, it explores the extent to which physicians have openly discussed such issues or, alternatively, attempted to hide them under a cloak of expertise.