It was August 27, 1885. In a hospital in Lima, Peru, a student named
Daniel Carrión was preparing to infect himself with a dreaded disease .
. . He had a small, sharp lancet ready . . . Carrión's friends and
teacher from the medical school thought it was a bad idea. They knew
Carrión was eager to learn more about this mysterious disease.
But were the risks worth it?
Science and medicine from the inside out-ten engrossing stories of
self-experimentation
Who are these guinea pig scientists? Searching for clues to some of
science's and medicine's bigger (and sometimes stranger) questions, they
are all the men and women who devoted their lives to help find the
answers. Spanning from the 1770s to the present--and uncovering the
science behind digestion, the spread of yellow fever, the development of
the first heart catheter, and more--their ten stories are at once
scientifically detailed and fascinatingly personal.