The Last Resort: Psychosurgery and the Limits of Medicine
BMJ 1999; 318 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.318.7176.132 (Published 09 January 1999) Cite this as: BMJ 1999;318:132
- Grant Gillett, professor of medical ethics.
- Bioethics Centre, University of Otago, New Zealand
Cambridge University Press, £40, pp 572
ISBN 0 521 35371 8
Rating: 
Psychosurgery forms an intriguing chapter in 20th century medicine that involved an alliance between psychiatrists, neurosurgeons, and neuroscientists in an attempt to help a desperate group of patients. Its rise and fall is an exemplary tale that reveals the scientific and intellectual status of clinical science. For that reason it is of interest far beyond the bounds of the specialties concerned. Jack Pressman tells this tale with a blend of historical ability and acumen that preserves …
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