Generally the poorest people ended up with emptier mouths because they could sell (or were forced to sell) their teeth to benefit the rich. Craddock talks about the earliest surgeons who removed people’s rotten teeth and replaced them with teeth from animals and from other humans.
I would have preferred less of an emphasis on that and more on organs. On top of that, having two out of six chapters in this book focused on blood seemed a bit disproportionate. I had already read a whole book about the history of blood transfusions ( Blood Work, by Holly Tucker). Next, the book spends a good chunk of time on blood transfusions, as people experimented freely with moving blood between animals and then from animals to humans. While they weren’t as complete as modern medicine can craft them, both the process and the results were pretty impressive for the times. Craddock shares lots of examples of people in various parts of the world creating new noses for those who had lost them. I was surprised to learn about how much medical practitioners (a loose term) were able to move skin from one area of a body to another. But he also shares a lengthier history of attempts made to switch around people’s (and animals’) parts going back to the 16th century.
Paul Craddock explores a history of more recent developments that led to the implantation of hearts and kidneys today.
While organ transplants have been a common medical procedure for the past few decades, the road leading up to the successes we now know was a longer and more interesting one than many of us likely are aware of. IN SHORT: This nonfiction science book shares a history of teeth, skin, blood and organ transplantation.
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