Naked To The Bone: Medical Imaging In The Twentieth Century

by Bettyann Holtzmann Kevles, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

A century ago, the living body, like most of the material world, was opaque. Then Wilhelm Roentgen captured and X-ray image of his wife’s finger—her wedding ring “floating” around a white bone—and our range of vision changed forever. By the 1920s, X-ray technology was common-place: all army recruits had lined up for chest pictures during WWI, and children were examining the bones of their feet in shoe store fluoroscopes, spectacularly unaware of the radiation they were absorbing. Through lucid prose, vivid anecdotes, and over seventy striking illustrations, science writer Bettyann Holtzman Kevles shows how X-rays and the subsequent daughter technologies—CT, MRI, PET, ultrasound—transformed the practice of medicine (from pediatrics to neurosurgery), the rules of evidence in courts, and the vision of artists.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Technology

378 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

Reviews

[Rik Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of my profession

Well written, thorough history of medical imaging from Roentgen's first accidental radiographs to the development of ultrasonography, CT, MRI and PET. Looks closely at the changes in knowledge and the attitudes of professionals and the public about the dangers of radiation exposure and its minimization. Also presents the incremental advances in imaging quality and slow process of development and growth of different imaging modalities. Further discusses the impact and perception on the arts and artists. Only quibble, book is showing some age and needs to be updated.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Naked To The Bone" by Bettyann Holtzmann Kevels, for me was very uninteresting. I kept trying to read it, but it only repeated what it had already said previously in the book. I thought it was going to be a book about the transformation of medical imaging, but it only talked about the change of x-rays, not MRI's or CT scans. It was in my personal opinion a very boring book, it didn't hook my attention like a lot of medical books do. This is reason why I gave it a 2 as a rating.

[Christos · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book. Great historical narration of all imaging modalities, how we went from one to the other, and how the clinicians and public adopted them. It's pretty tiring to read though - it's almost like studying, especially towards the latest chapters.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly readable and entertaining book with lots of juicy trivia tidbits. Amazing to see the impact of a technology on medical treatment but also society at large.

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually not very good

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if you're interested in history of medical imaging.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!