Skip to navigation Skip to content
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • facebook
Shop Now
House of Books & Friends
My Account
  • £7.99 1
House of Books & Friends
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Resources for Connection
    • News
    • A Chapter for Every Child
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Coffee & Connections
    • The Loneliness Project
    • The Sunday Letter Project
  • Contact
    • Hire Us
    • Accessibility Information
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Resources for Connection
    • News
    • A Chapter for Every Child
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Coffee & Connections
    • The Loneliness Project
    • The Sunday Letter Project
  • Contact
    • Hire Us
    • Accessibility Information

Buy Online

A sick history of medicine

£10.99

A disgusting history of medicine through the ages from Jelena Poleksic, featuring hilarious illustrations by Ella Kasperowicz.

In Stock

ISBN: 9781916745018 Category: Children's - Non-Fiction Tags: Children's / Teenage general interest: History & the past, Children's / Teenage general interest: Science & technology: general interes, Children's / Teenage personal & social issues: Body & health
  • Description
  • Additional information
  • Reviews (0)

Description

WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED. This revolting history of medicine through the ages by Jelena Poleksic is full of blood, guts, and gore!

If you don’t like going to the doctor, spare a thought for your ancestors. Got a headache? We can drill into your skull! Need to buy medicine? Can we recommend a dose of ground-up Egyptian mummy? Want to fight off diseases? Try smelling a stinky cesspit.

It’s well-known that to make advances in science you have to make a few mistakes along the way. In this hilarious history book kids will be whisked around the world – from ancient Rome to imperial China – to meet the medical innovators who pushed the boundaries of what was possible, with sometimes disastrous effects. They’ll learn about the use of leeches, maggot-therapy (as gross as it sounds), dancing plagues, public dissections, grave robbers, electric eel treatments, exploding teeth, and much more!

Written by a doctor, everything in this book has been scrupulously researched and readers will learn about the development of some of our greatest inventions, from vaccines to X-rays. Amusing illustrations by Ella Kasperowicz make this a book kids will want to return to again and again.

The vile sequel to the equally revolting A Stinky History of Toilets!

Additional information

Weight 0.51 kg
Dimensions 29 × 23.6 × 1.2 cm
Author

Poleksic, Jelena

Publisher

Neon Squid

Imprint

Neon Squid

Cover

Hardback

Pages

48

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

610.9 (edition:23)

Readership

Children – juvenile / Code: J

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Related products

  • A wild child’s book of birds

    £14.99
    Add to basket
  • Crazy about cats

    £12.99
    Add to basket
  • More Tales From Shakespeare

    £20.00
    Add to basket
Recently Viewed Products
  • Tree Thing £14.99

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Oct 5



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18117541925073129


BOOKSELLER READS 📖
Our fabulous bookseller Mollie just finished reading Jamaica Inn while down in Cornwall, and can guarantee it's a must read for Autumn! Moors, mystery and a doomed romance; who wouldn't love it!

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Oct 4



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 17927728047421995


LITTLE BOOKWORMS 🐛 Thank you for coming along to discuss Shadow Thieves; Island of Skulls by Peter Burns. Our next book club meeting will take place on the 1st of November. For November, we will be reading Skulkmoor by Hana Tooke 💀 You have until the day of the book club to finish the title – this is available to buy as part of your ticket, or you can purchase a ticket only. Tickets and details available at the link in our bio 📚

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Oct 3



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18346053916270144


Our booksellers were busy this month getting into the autumnal reading spirit, check out what they read during September! 🍂☕

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Oct 2



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18081984842348411


October is finally upon us. The leaves are changing, the air is chilling (slighlty), pumpkin spice is being consumed in copius amounts, and boy do we have the perfect event for you this spooky season. 🎃🍂

@nessbcsantos is set to visit us and discuss her book 'In Your Heart a Devil' with @jodierhianmatthews (author of Meet Me at the Surface).

How GOREGOUS is this proof from @deadinkbooks!

Grab your tickets at the link in our bio.

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Oct 1



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 17948763372323421


Happy October! If you feel a chill in the air, come to HOBAF for a hot drink!

houseofbooksandfriends



View Instagram post by houseofbooksandfriends


Oct 1



Open post by houseofbooksandfriends with ID 18351695158223527


We can't wait to see you all for the spooky edition of Inkblot festival in Manchester! 👻

An indepentdent comic festival, a celebration of independent artists and unique stories. Inkblot will be held at St Thomas centre on the 31st October!📚

Grab your tickets at http://intblockfestival.com 🎟️


Follow on Instagram

You're here, so you must like reading.... our newsletter is akin to a literary classic! We have so many projects, events and plans for House of Books & Friends all of which we will pack in to our newsletter so you can be among the first to find out about all the latest news. Don't worry, we promise not to bombard you!

SUBSCRIBE
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • facebook

Get in Touch

We love to hearing from fellow Bookworms!

Please drop us a message, find out where we are or get directions via our contact page.
Contact Us

 

© House of Books and Friends 2026 / Website designed by Bookswarm

The House of Books and Friends CIC is a community interest company registration number 13909633, the registered office of which is 53 King Street, Manchester, M2 4LQ. Trading Address - 81 King Street, Manchester M2 4AH. what3words ///stars.wished.papers

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy and Cookies
  • My Account
  • Search
  • Basket 1