Many people take for granted that physicians know what they are doing, but every day scientists must make very difficult decisions. Just because scientists can harvest stem cells, doesn't mean that they should; and while one day nanotechnology might mean a little 'nanobot' can be turned into a blood vessel to clean out the arteries, there are some ethical and environmental issues that must be considered first. Today people can be kept alive mechanically, but physicians must wrestle with how long breathing on a machine should continue before a person is declared dead and their organs can be harvested. These difficult and emotional issues have no easy answers, but medical practitioners have tried to come up with ethical solutions. Available in full color, "Medicine Today" explains some of the technology and discoveries that are currently being explored in the world of medicine, providing information on what some of these new developments might mean and the possibilities for tomorrow.
Containing a chronology, a glossary, and an array of historical and current sources for further research, "Medicine Today" provides readers with the background necessary to ask the right questions about medical decisions of the future. The chapters include: Recently Crossed Medical Frontlers; Human Health and the Environment: Forever Linked; Conservation Medicine: Why Vets are Being Consulted on Human Health; Medical Frontiers of the Future; Modern Medicine and Medical Ethics; Health Care in Crisis: Who Will Pay?; Preventive Medicine: Key to Better Health; and, A Doctor Visit of Tomorrow.