Summary of Roy Porter's Blood and Guts

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 The history of medicine is far from a simple tale of triumphal progress.

Disease is a product of society, and civilization brings not just discontents but diseases.#2 The human race was colonized by pathogens when it moved out of Africa.

These included parasitic worms and insects, as well as micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoans.#3 The transition from nomadic to Neolithic society brought about by the advent of agriculture gave rise to many diseases that were prevalent in settlements.

The scales of health tipped unfavorably, with infections worsening and vitality declining.#4 The beginning of the era of catastrophic epidemics was the spread of cities and trade in the Old World.

With the influx of rural surpluses, as well as long-distance migrants who brought new diseases with them, towns never replaced their populations naturally.