Accidental Medical Discoveries: How Tenacity and Pure Dumb Luck Changed the World (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781510712461)

Many of the world's most important and life-saving devices and techniques were often discovered purely by accident. Serendipity, timing, and luck played a part in the discovery of unintentional cures and breakthroughs:

A plastic shard in an RAF pilot's eye leads to the use of plastic for the implantable lens.
The inability to remove a titanium chamber from rabbit's bone leads to dental implants.
Viagra was discovered by a group of chemists, working in the lab to find a new drug to alleviate the pain of angina pectoris.
A stretch of five weeks of unusually warm weather in 1928 played a role in assisting Dr. Alexander Fleming in his analysis of bacterial growth and the discovery of penicillin.
After studying the effects of the venom injected by the bite of a deadly pit viper snake, chemists developed a groundbreaking drug that works to control blood pressure.

Accidental Medical Discoveries is an entertaining and enlightening look at the creation of 25 medical inventions that have changed the world - unintentionally. The book is presented in a lively and engaging way, and will appeal to a wide variety of readers, from history buffs to trivia fanatics to those in the medical profession.

Author: Robert W. Winters
ISBN-10: 1510712461
ISBN-13: 9781510712461
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Language: English
Published: 11/22/2016
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d