
The Origin and Growth of the Healing Art / A Popular History of Medicine in All Ages and Countries
Listen FreeFree AI audiobook with natural voice. No signup required.
Chapters (618)
- E-text prepared by Turgut Dincer, Les Galloway, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
- THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE HEALING ART
- PREFACE.
- ILLUSTRATIONS.
- CONTENTS.
- BOOK I. THE MEDICINE OF PRIMITIVE MAN.
- CHAPTER I. PRIMITIVE MAN A SAVAGE.
- CHAPTER II. ANIMISM.
- CHAPTER III. SAVAGE THEORIES OF DISEASE.
- I. Anger of Offended Demons.
- II. Witchcraft as a Cause of Disease.
- III. Offence to the Dead as a Cause of Disease.
- CHAPTER IV. MAGIC AND SORCERY IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE.
- CHAPTER V. PRIMITIVE MEDICINE.
- CHAPTER VI. PRIMITIVE SURGERY.
- CHAPTER VII. UNIVERSALITY OF THE USE OF INTOXICANTS.
- CHAPTER VIII. CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH PREGNANCY AND CHILD-BEARING.
- BOOK II. THE MEDICINE OF THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS.
- CHAPTER I. EGYPTIAN MEDICINE.
- CHAPTER II. JEWISH MEDICINE.
- CHAPTER III. THE MEDICINE OF CHALDÆA, BABYLONIA, AND ASSYRIA.
- CHAPTER IV. THE MEDICINE OF THE HINDUS.
- CHAPTER V. MEDICINE IN CHINA, TARTARY, AND JAPAN.
- Japanese Medicine.
- CHAPTER VI. THE MEDICINE OF THE PARSEES.
- BOOK III. GREEK MEDICINE.
- CHAPTER I. THE MEDICINE OF THE GREEKS BEFORE THE TIME OF HIPPOCRATES.
- Gods of Medicine.
- The Medicine of Homer.
- The Temples of Æsculapius.
- The Early Ionic Philosophers.
- The School of the Pythagoreans at Crotona.
- Greek Theories of Disease.
- Schools of the Asclepiades.
- The Oath.
- CHAPTER II. THE MEDICINE OF HIPPOCRATES AND HIS PERIOD.
- The Law.
- CHAPTER III. POST-HIPPOCRATIC GREEK MEDICINE.—THE SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE.
- The Dogmatic School.
- The School of Alexandria.
- School of the Empirics.
- The Scythians.
- Greek Medical Literature.
- CHAPTER IV. THE EARLIER ROMAN MEDICINE.
- School of the Methodists.
- Greek and Roman Pharmacy.
- CHAPTER V. LATER ROMAN MEDICINE.
- The Sect of the Pneumatists.
- The Sect of the Eclectics
- Influence of Christianity
- Ancient Surgical Instruments.
- CHAPTER VI. AMULETS AND CHARMS IN MEDICINE.
- Gnostic and Christian Amulets.
- Herbs, Animals, etc., as Amulets.
- Knots as Charms.
- Precious Stones as Charms.
- Signatures.
- Numbers.
- Girdles.
- Spittle.
- Talismans.
- Scripts.
- Characts.
- Sacred Names as Charms.
- Stolen Property as a Charm.
- BOOK IV. CELTIC, TEUTONIC, AND MEDIÆVAL MEDICINE.
- CHAPTER I. MEDICINE OF THE DRUIDS, TEUTONS, ANGLO-SAXONS, AND WELSH.
- Medicine of the Druids.
- Medicine of the Teutons.
- Medicine of the Welsh.
- Medical Maxims.
- CHAPTER II. MOHAMMEDAN MEDICINE.
- The Caliphs.
- Baghdad.
- The Great Arabian Physicians.
- CHAPTER III. RISE OF THE MONASTERIES.
- The Origin of Chemistry.
- CHAPTER IV. RISE OF THE UNIVERSITIES.
- School of Montpellier.
- Divorce of Medicine from Surgery.
- CHAPTER V. THE SCHOOL OF SALERNO.
- CHAPTER VI. THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
- CHAPTER VII. THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
- Revival of Human Anatomy.
- Domestic Medicine in Chaucer’s Time.
- Fellowship of Barbers and Surgeons.
- The Black Death.
- The Dancing Mania.
- Pharmacy.
- CHAPTER VIII. THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
- Faith-healing.
- Charms and Astrology.
- The Revival of Learning.
- The Sweating Sickness.
- Tarantism.
- CHAPTER IX. MEDICINE IN ANCIENT MEXICO AND PERU.
- BOOK V. THE DAWN OF MODERN SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE.
- CHAPTER I. THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
- Influenza.
- Legal Recognition of Medical Practitioners.
- The Sweating Sickness.
- The Royal College of Physicians of London Established.
- Legal Medicine.
- CHAPTER II. THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
- CHAPTER III. SKATOLOGICAL MEDICINE AND THE REFORM OF PHARMACOLOGY.
- Materia Medica.
- Sympathetical Cures.
- CHAPTER IV. BATHS AND MINERAL WATERS.
- CHAPTER V. WITCHCRAFT AND MEDICINE.
- Comparative Witchcraft.
- Law against Sorcery.
- Magic and Medicine.
- Magic in Virgil and Horace.
- Images of Wax, etc., in Sorcery.
- Knots.
- White Magic.
- Black Magic.
- The Evil Eye.
- CHAPTER VI. MEDICAL SUPERSTITIONS.
- Superstitions connected with Death and the Grave.
- Teeth Worms.
- Disease Transference.
- Antidotes.
- The Doctrine of Signatures.
- CHAPTER VII. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
- The Great Schools of Medical Theory.
- Physicians.
- Hospitals.
- Mesmerism.
- Surgeons.
- Obstetricians.
- BOOK VI. THE AGE OF SCIENCE.
- CHAPTER I. THE NINTEENTH CENTURY.—PHYSICAL SCIENCE ALLIED TO MEDICINE.
- Medical Systems.
- The Natural Sciences.
- Chemists.
- Electricians.
- Anthropology.
- Philosophers.
- Anatomists and Biologists.
- Physicians and Pathologists.
- Brain and Nerve Specialists.
- Surgeons.
- Gynæcologists.
- Anatomy in England.
- French Surgeons.
- German Surgeons.
- American Surgeons.
- Ophthalmic Surgeons.
- CHAPTER II. MEDICAL REFORMS.
- Conservative Surgery.
- Discovery of Anæsthetics.
- Medical Literature.
- Nursing Reform.
- The Treatment of Insanity.
- CHAPTER III. THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE.
- The Phagocyte Theory.
- Ptomaines.
- Lister’s Antiseptic Surgery.
- Sanitary Science.
- Hygiene.
- Bacteriologists and other Scientists.
- Experimental Physiology.
- APPENDIX. ON SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT MINERALS USED IN MEDICINE.
- INDEX.
- FOOTNOTES:
- v
- vi
- vii
- viii
- ix
- x
- xi
- xii
- xiii
- xiv
- 1
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 141
- 142
- 143
- 144
- 145
- 147
- 148
- 149
- 150
- 151
- 152
- 153
- 154
- 155
- 156
- 157
- 158
- 160
- 162
- 163
- 164
- 166
- 167
- 168
- 169
- 170
- 171
- 172
- 173
- 174
- 175
- 176
- 177
- 178
- 179
- 180
- 181
- 182
- 183
- 184
- 185
- 186
- 187
- 189
- 192
- 193
- 194
- 195
- 196
- 197
- 198
- 199
- 200
- 203
- 204
- 205
- 206
- 207
- 208
- 212
- 213
- 214
- 216
- 217
- 218
- 220
- 221
- 222
- 223
- 225
- 227
- 228
- 229
- 230
- 231
- 232
- 233
- 234
- 235
- 237
- 238
- 239
- 240
- 241
- 242
- 243
- 244
- 245
- 246
- 247
- 248
- 249
- 250
- 251
- 252
- 253
- 254
- 255
- 256
- 257
- 258
- 259
- 260
- 261
- 262
- 264
- 265
- 267
- 269
- 270
- 271
- 272
- 273
- 274
- 275
- 276
- 277
- 278
- 279
- 280
- 281
- 282
- 283
- 284
- 285
- 286
- 287
- 289
- 290
- 292
- 293
- 294
- 295
- 296
- 297
- 298
- 299
- 300
- 302
- 303
- 304
- 305
- 307
- 308
- 309
- 310
- 311
- 312
- 313
- 314
- 315
- 316
- 317
- 318
- 319
- 320
- 321
- 322
- 323
- 324
- 325
- 326
- 327
- 328
- 329
- 330
- 331
- 332
- 333
- 334
- 335
- 336
- 338
- 339
- 340
- 341
- 342
- 343
- 345
- 346
- 348
- 349
- 350
- 351
- 353
- 354
- 355
- 356
- 357
- 358
- 361
- 364
- 365
- 366
- 369
- 370
- 371
- 372
- 373
- 375
- 376
- 377
- 378
- 379
- 383
- 384
- 385
- 386
- 387
- 388
- 389
- 390
- 391
- 392
- 393
- 394
- 395
- 396
- 397
- 398
- 399
- 400
- 401
- 402
- 403
- 404
- 405
- 406
- 407
- 408
- 409
- 410
- 411
- 412
- 413
- 414
- 415
- 416
- 417
- 418
- 422
- 423
- 424
- 425
- 428
- 429
- 431
- 432
- 433
- 435
- 436
- 437
- 439
- 441
- 443
- 444
- 445
- 446
- 448
- 450
- 452
- 453
- 454
- 455
- 456
- 461
- 463
- 464
- 466
- 467
- 468
- 469
- 470
- 471
- 472
- 475
- 476
- 477
- 478
- 479
- 480
- 482
- 483
- 485
- 486
- 487
- 488
- 489
- 490
- 491
- 492
- 493
- 494
- 495
- 496
- 497
- 498
- 499
- 500
- 501
- 502
- 503
- 504
- 505
- 506
- 507
- 509
How to Listen
- 1. Click "Listen Free" above
- 2. The book opens in CastReader's browser reader
- 3. Click the play button — AI narration starts with word highlighting
- 4. Use "Send to Phone" to continue listening on your phone
More by Edward Berdoe
FAQ
Is this audiobook really free?
Yes. "The Origin and Growth of the Healing Art / A Popular History of Medicine in All Ages and Countries" is a public domain work from Project Gutenberg. CastReader converts it to audio using AI text-to-speech for free. No account or payment needed.
What does the AI voice sound like?
CastReader uses Kokoro TTS, a natural-sounding AI voice. It handles punctuation, names, and dialogue naturally. Most listeners forget it's AI after a few minutes.
Can I listen on my phone?
Yes. Open the book, then use "Send to Phone" to stream audio to your phone via Telegram. No app download needed.

