Examines medical history in northern Europe from 1850 to 2015 and sheds new light on the circulation of medical knowledge in that region The Baltic Sea region in northern Europe, with its history of multiple cultural and social transformations, as well as mixture of national and regional scientific styles, has lately attracted much attention from scholars of various disciplines. This book explores the history of medicine in the Baltic Sea region and provides different answers to one central question: How has the circulation of knowledge in the Baltic Sea region influenced medicine as a discipline, and illness as an experience, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? The anthology consists of ten chapters that shed new light on how medical ideas and devices were developed in different contexts. Illuminating currents of traditions, contact zones, and areas of conflict, essays in this collection discuss technological, social, and economic aspects relevant for the exchange of medical knowledge across the Baltic Sea. The contributing authors are historians, physicians, geographers, ethnologists, and scholars of literature. CONTRIBUTORS: Katharina Beier, Motzi Ekloef, Frank Gruner, Martin Gunnarson, Nils Hansson, Axel C. Huntelmann, Ken Kalling, Michaela Malmberg, Joanna Nieznanowska, Anders Ottosson, Maike Rotzoll, Erki Tammiksaar, Jonatan Wistrand NILS HANSSON is Associate Professor in the Department of the History, Theory, and Ethics of Medicine at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany. JONATAN WISTRAND teaches in the Department of Medical History, Lund University, Sweden.

The use of human tissue for medical research and scientific progress raises many ethical and legal challenges. The procurement, storage and transfer of human tissue for research purposes have posed significant questions over recent years, and a number of high profile scandals in the UK prompted the publication of the Madden Report on Post Mortem Practice and Procedures in Irish hospitals in 2006. Additionally, tissue-related research tends to be most promising if samples and information are shared across national borders, but the heterogeneity of current rules and guidelines within the member states of the European Union calls all the more for clarification.
This multi-authored interdisciplinary text, edited by four experienced researchers, explores many of the issues concerning biobank-related research and aims to provide answers to the most urgent questions by means of ethical, philosophical, and legal investigation. It provides a fascinating insight into a wide range of interlinking research perspectives and serves as a comprehensive reference to the state of play ethically and legally in Europe. It will be of value to medics and social scientists, human tissue researchers, and policy makers who have an interest in ethical and legal issues of human tissue research.