A neurologist who loves reading books
15 Life Books Recommended for Young People Dreaming of Medical School!

This is a kind of meta-book that introduces 15 books recommended by a neurologist who loves books to young people who dream of going to medical school.
The author, a book addict who dreamed of becoming a historian or geographer, somehow entered medical school, but grew distant from books, reading only boring medical books. However, he returned to the library when he was appointed as a public health doctor in Jeju Island.
So, I read a wide range of books, not only on medicine, but also on humanities, mythology, literature, art, and philosophy related to medicine.
As a result, I was able to acquire a wealth of background knowledge in medicine and became an author who published several books.


The books selected in "On the Way to Medical School" are relatively recently published, easy to read, contain medical and scientific knowledge, make you think about the role and attitude of a doctor, and, above all, are interesting and easy for young people to read.
This book, which introduces 15 books on medicine and includes the author's own experience as a doctor, is intended as a career guide for teenagers, but it is also interesting enough for the general public to read and gain common sense and culture about health.
Of course, for young people dreaming of entering medical school, this book will be a solid intellectual asset that will provide them with great courage and inspiration as they move toward their goals.

Lister was born the son of a wine merchant.
His father was an amateur scientist who was obsessed with microscopes, and he succeeded in improving lenses, becoming a member of the Royal Society.
He was against his son's decision to become a surgeon.
As a scientist, he saw that surgery was not medicine, and that surgeons were not only incompetent but also socially unsympathetic.
--- p.19

In short, these are stories of surgeries with a story.
Most surgeons are hearing this for the first time.
It could be viewed as a history book that collects very special cases among countless surgeries.
Since this book was written by a surgeon, it is well written from a surgical perspective.
You can read it lightly with the feeling that such things happen in the world without having to look at it from an overly professional perspective.
Surgeons with a keen interest in history might be able to delve a little deeper.
--- p.31

Hormones are important.
The role of hormones is to transmit signals within the body.
There are two systems that transmit information in our body.
The nervous system and the endocrine system.
Signal transmission in the nervous system is like a wire.
The signal transmitter and destination are connected by a continuous nerve cord.
However, in the endocrine system, the organs that secrete hormones and the organs on which the hormones act are not connected.
If the nervous system is a wired telephone, the endocrine system is a wireless communication system.
--- p.46

Hitler suffered from Parkinson's disease.
It should be noted that having Parkinson's disease does not mean that you will immediately experience cognitive problems.
The doctor summoned to the White House after President Biden's speech and actions became increasingly problematic was not an expert on Alzheimer's disease, a disease characterized by cognitive impairment.
He was a doctor who mainly treated Parkinson's disease, which mainly showed behavioral problems.
Although both conditions are degenerative neurological disorders, there are subtle differences in their political nuances.
--- p.60

Even if there is no cure or vaccine right now, we can begin to treat it by changing our behavior and lifestyle.
Therefore, in the long term, countermeasures against new infectious diseases also involve changing our thoughts and actions.
If we don't give up our greed now, there's nothing we can do.
The ecosystem will continue to send us new infectious diseases.
There is no way to stop it.
Of course we will overcome it, but it will come at a tremendous cost.
--- p.96

It has long been known that the heartbeat is closely related to life.
The heart is the most important organ and is treated as the emperor of the human body.
Since we feel our heartbeats more strongly when we are angry, surprised, happy, or in love, it is not surprising that we see the heart as the seat of our courage, spirit, emotions, and soul.
The reason why the phrase "brave heart" and the heart (♡), a symbol of love, mean heart, is because of this.
--- p.116

Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Mrs. Lacks was admitted and treated, was one of the best hospitals in the United States at the time.
The hospital was established as a charity hospital and was the only one in the area that accepted African Americans.
There was also a dedicated ward for poor African Americans.
Just because you received a free diagnosis and treatment doesn't mean the hospital can take anything that comes out of your body.
In fact, it is an unethical act that violates the Nuremberg Code.
--- p.135

What lessons can we learn from the tragedy of the Radium Girls, the history of early radiation research, and the radiation leaks beyond human control? Isn't it a lesson that we were ignorant and paid dearly for it? But is it a past perfect tense, and is everything now resolved? Can anyone confidently answer that question? Nothing is more foolish than learning nothing from a lesson.
--- p.165

In the 1800s, doctors treated patients with about 20 "slightly effective" drugs and hundreds of "useless" ones.
In the 1930s, over 100 years ago, Western physicians treated numerous diseases with only 10 medicines that were known to be effective.
But by the 1960s, 30 years later, there were over 2,000 treatments available.
Now, 60 years later, doctors have hundreds of thousands of medications at their disposal.
--- p.189

We apply antibiotic ointment immediately at the slightest scratch, so how can we expect to live in a world where antibiotics are useless? It's impossible.
So what should we do? The answer lies in the survival principles of the chilling Cold War era, when nations developed nuclear bombs and possessed the power to kill each other hundreds of times over, yet instead of annihilating their enemies, they sought a precarious coexistence.
It is coexistence with the enemy.
Antibiotics must be used appropriately to prevent the emergence of resistant variants.
To prevent the spread of new zoonotic infectious diseases, we must prevent people from inadvertently entering the habitats of microorganisms and becoming infected.
Indiscriminate environmental development must be prohibited.

--- p.207