Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-306) and index.

Ideas in conflict: the rise and fall of new views of disease -- The changing concept of the ideal physician -- The nature of suffering -- Suffering in chronic illness -- The mysterious relationship between doctor and patient -- How to understand diseases -- The pursuit of disease or the care of the sick? -- Treating the disease, the body, or the patient -- The doctor and the patient -- Who is this person? -- The measure of the person -- The clinician's experience: power versus magic in medicine -- Mind and body -- The illness called dying -- Pain and suffering -- Epilogue: the care of the suffering patient.