Self-experimentation, the deliberate design and implementation of an experiment using the experimenter's own body, is more common than is generally known. In fact, as this captivating reference book shows, hundreds of individuals over the centuries have used themselves as guinea pigs to test a theory or to understand a disease. The author provides a detailed history of the practice through numerous dictionary-style entries on self-experimenters and their experiments.
Each entry begins with biographical information about the experimenter and includes a brief narrative about the experiment, including its category, date and location, purpose, procedure, result, and significance. Medical history readers and researchers will find this book helpful both for its arrangement of data and for its indexing. The bibliographic references are a useful aid for those interested in further study. Offering easy access to a wide variety of biographical, scientific, and bibliographical information, Self-Experimentation: Sources for Study is a valuable reference work for those interested in historical and scientific research.