Out cold : a chilling descent into the macabre, controversial, lifesaving history of hypothermia / Phil Jaekl.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : PublicAffairs, 2021Edition: First editionDescription: 255 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781541756755
- 1541756754
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 615.8329 J22 | Available | 33111010526677 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"A fascinating look into the strange and sometimes unbelievable history of hypothermic medicine. Jaekl weaves together a story that is part history lesson and part science thriller. This is truly a must-read for any fan of science and science fiction! " -- Douglas Talk, MD/MPH, chief medical consultant, SpaceWorks Inc., Human Torpor Project
The meaning of the word "hypothermia" has Greek origins and roughly translates to "less heat." Its symptoms can be deadly--shivering, followed by confusion, irrationality, and even the illusion of feeling hot. But hypothermia has another side--it can be therapeutic.
In Out Cold, science writer Phil Jaekl chronicles the underappreciated story of human innovation with cold, from Ancient Egypt, where it was used to treat skin irritations, to eighteenth-century London, where scientists used it in their first explorations of suspended animation. Throughout history, physicians have used cold to innovate life extension, enable distant space missions, and explore consciousness.
Hypothermia may still conjure macabre images, like the bodies littering Mt. Everest and disembodied heads in cryo-freezers, but the reality is that modern science has invented numerous new life-saving cooling techniques based on what we've learned over the centuries. And Out Cold reveals a surprisingly warm future for this chilling state.
"The word "hypothermia" has Greek origins meaning "under heat." Its symptoms initially involve shivering, poorly coordinated, laborious movement, and disorientation. At extremes, heart rate decreases significantly while retrograde amnesia and confusion set in. After further decline, victims can begin to make irrational decisions and talk incoherently. For reasons poorly understood, they've even been known to take off their clothes and seek confined spaces before death reigns. Yet, hypothermia has another side--it can be therapeutic. In Out Cold, science writer Phil Jaekl tells the history of therapeutic hypothermia, from Ancient Egypt, where cold was used to treat schizophrenia, to Nazi science experiments, science-fiction-inspired preservation attempts, and a whole host of modern-day researchers harnessing cold in surprising ways to save lives. We understand hypothermia now better than ever before, and we have numerous new life-saving cooling techniques at our disposal, yet a macabre stigma still hangs over the field. This book will delve into a dark history from which science is now coming out on top"-- Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.