We are pleased to offer for review ‘Uroscopy in Early Modern Europe‘ by Michael Stolberg (Ashgate, 2015). Expressions of interest are welcome from across the medical humanities.
Uroscopy – the diagnosis of disease by visual examination of the urine – played a very prominent role in early modern medical practice and in the lives of ordinary people. Widely considered as the most reliable way to diagnose diseases and pregnancies it was taught at the best universities. Leading physicians prided themselves on their mastery in this field. Countless medical writings were dedicated to uroscopy and artists represented it in hundreds of illustrations and paintings.
Based on a wide range of textual and visual sources, such as autobiographies, court records, medical treatises and genre painting, this book offers the first comprehensive study of the place of uroscopy in early modern medicine, culture and society and of the – gradually changing – ways in which medical practitioners, lay persons and, last but not least, artists perceived and used it.
If you would like to review ‘Uroscopy in Early Modern Europe‘ (no more than 1,000 words in length), then please consult our reviewer’s guidelines and email our reviews editor with a short explanation of why you are well placed to review the book.