The medical successes of the post-war period rank among times of exceptional human effort. Advances in surgical techniques, new ideas about the nature of disease, and tremendous innovations in drug production have eliminated most common causes of premature death. However, since the 1970s, the pace of development has slowed, and the future of medicine is uncertain. How did this happen? James Le Fanu examines the "twelve defining moments" of modern medicine and the intellectual void that followed, in a fully revised and updated edition of this work. The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine is a shocking drama and a cry for change.