Pump: A Natural History of the Heart

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Vertebrate biologist Bill Schutt knows how to keep an audience engaged. Not only does he cover all aspects of the heart from its primitive origins to the current surgical marvels, he also combines his inimical wit with his wisdom in this book. As Schutt recounts the tale of how this vital organ was perceived through the lenses of the Ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Grecian periods, the reader follows the history of the organ’s mystery. The open circulatory systems designed for arthropods are compared with the closed circulatory systems of the vertebrates.

Try to imagine the heart size of a blue whale, of which a plasticized version sits in a Canadian museum, or wonder how a giraffe can maintain its circulatory balance when it stoops to drink. Gasp at how an ice frog reincarnates from its wintry, completely frozen self when the temperature warms, or why the horseshoe crab is being hunted by pharmaceutical companies. Follow the history of medicine and how thinking changed from the routine of draining blood from the sick to lifesaving transfusions.

If you want a refreshing view of the transformation and evolution of our knowledge about the heart, blood, and circulation, and current research on the subject, this is the book that provides the background.


Reviewed By:

Author Bill Schutt
Star Count /5
Format Hard
Page Count 288 pages
Publisher Algonquin Books
Publish Date 21-Sep-2021
ISBN 9781616208936
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Issue October 2021
Category Science & Nature
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