Online since 1997 Dropsy, Dialysis, Transplant: A Short History of Failing Kidneys (Johns Hopkins Biographies of Disease)Click on a title to get information such as reviews, price comparisons, and availability or to purchase. Search Again-Enter Keyword, Title, or ISBN: |
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Dropsy, Dialysis, Transplant: A Short History of Failing Kidneys (Johns Hopkins Biographies of Disease) |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 616.614 EAN: 9780801887345 Edition: 1 ISBN: 0801887348 Label: The Johns Hopkins University Press Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 240 Publication Date: November 12, 2007 Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press Studio: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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  - A wonderfully interesting and informative bookI enjoy reading books on diseases, and have read several - on such subjects as smallpox, polio, bubonic plague, and others. Well, this book is slightly different, in that instead of focusing on a specific disease, it looks at diseases of the kidneys. As a genealogist, I have often read seen family histories that mention "dropsy" and death certificates that mention "Bright's Disease." But, what does that mean for the person so diagnosed? Well, this book does a great job of explaining what it meant to have dropsy, or be diagnosed with Bright's Disease, and following the history through to the present, it discusses the origins and dialysis and kidney transplantation, and what they all meant. I found that the book did a wonderful job of really bringing home to me just what it meant to have kidney problems over the years, and how doctors and patients looked at themselves and their relationship. I found this to be a wonderfully interesting and informative book. If you are interested in the history of medicine, then you really should read this book. If you are a genealogist or family historian, and want to understand what your ancestors faced years ago, then you really must get this book. I highly recommend it! Rating:  - The organ that gets no respect... until it is neededThis is the second book in the new series, Johns Hopkins Biographies of Diseases. The first, on malaria, is on my reading list. This one, Dropsy, Dialysis, Transplant: A Short History of Failing Kidneys, encourages me to read all the books in this series as they appear. Physician Steven Peitzman takes the reader on a trip through the practical and technological stages of understanding and treating renal (kidney) disease, later to become kidney (renal) disease. From the diagnosis and treatment of "dropsy" (the illustration of a woman being treated for dropsy on page 5 is indicative of the suffering this condition involved), to the fumbling understanding of the role of the kidney in "Bright's Disease," to a clearer recognition of the structure and functions of healthy and diseased kidney tissue, Peitzman takes the reader on a journey though medical history. And it is a significant history, covering many firsts: diagnosis of organ-specific diseases, artificial organs, and transplantation. I was particularly engaged with the sections on dialysis and transplantation. Dialysis was, and is, a profound invention. Humans became tied to machine, and an industry developed around this relationship. Today, a third of a million Americans visit dialysis centers or are home-treated three days a week and, for most of them, this will continue for the rest of their lives. Peitzman discusses the ultimate goal for these patients or clients: reintegration into work and family life. In many cases, this has been successful. However, the average age of dialysis patients is increasing, and for these dialysis clients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) at age 75, survival, not work, is the ultimate goal. Peitzman hints at the ethical concerns of investing huge sums of public monies for keeping very ill dialysis clients alive for a few months. Transplantation is the most recent miracle. Peitzman writes, "...some recipients of a kidney transplant can see in the returning trickle of urine the very presence of a loving God" (p. 159). For those with ESRD, it must seem like a miracle. There are troubling issues with the increasing number of people donating kidneys to family members and friends (understandable), and total strangers (less understandable). Given the extraordinary increase in type 2 diabetes and obesity, primary reasons affecting the deterioration of kidneys, it seems people should hold on to their kidneys a little tighter. Time will tell whether these donors have made an appropriate choice. The last chapter on prevention is also of great interest, with Peitzman suggesting that 10 million undiagnosed Americans could benefit from treatment to prevent future kidney disease. All in all, this is an excellent summary of the history of kidney disease and treatment. |
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