Illness, disease and injury prompted the development of medicine from the earliest days of mankind: useful herbs, methods for treating wounds and even setting bones were passed down the generations by word of mouth.

With the growth of civilization came more scientific methods, generally discovered by significant individuals. This informative and entertaining audiobook presents the major figures in the history of medicine, from Hippocrates in Ancient Greece to the Roman doctor Galen and the medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen.

It also explores the Arabs Ibn Sina and Al-Razi and the start of major anatomical investigations during the Renaissance by Andreas Vesalius. The furtherance of medical knowledge grew quickly from that point with William Harvey (the circulation of the blood) and Edward Jenner (inoculation); there was growing awareness of the importance of cleanliness to prevent infection, and the discovery of penicillin and DNA was soon made.

This is one of the most fascinating stories in human history and, as this audiobook shows, one of the most varied - and exciting.