Korot is unique as the only journal devoted to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science. To quote Prof. Leibowitz (z”l), one of the first initiators of Korot, the purpose of the publication is: ...preference for topics based on sources not readily accessible to our colleagues abroad in their researches. Avoiding, as far as possible, a narrow parochial approach, we hope to enlarge the knowledge of medical historical facts and concepts in a field often regarded as somewhat esoteric.1 It is our hope that the present volume of Korot has succeeded in this endeavor. Our special thanks are due to Dr. Kenneth Collins for his kind assistance in the proofreading stage. Our next issue will emphasize the subject of Jews and medicine in the Renaissance period, e.g., Tuviah Cohen and Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo. Our readers are warmly invited to submit articles connected with these subjects, but also any other historical essays related to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science, for publication. Letters to the editor and brief historical notes are also welcome.

This book deals with rheumatic diseases that are mainly diseases of the skeletal system and muscles. It contains comprehensive and up-to-date information on more than 120 acquired and congenital joint diseases, such as various arthritis, skeletal and spinal diseases, tendon issues, vascular infections, peripheral nerve injury syndromes, and more. The book is written in a simple, clear and comprehensible language. It lists the various symptoms of diseases, diagnostic methods, including laboratory tests and various imaging methods, various therapeutic approaches, including conventional drug therapies and alternative therapies. A special chapter in the book is devoted to common questions frequently asked by the patients and the answers to them. It also presents explanations of common terms and concepts in rheumatic diseases.

The Truth of Scientific Medicine is an attempt to deal with one of the crucial problems in modern medicine: the rapid rate of exchange of truths serving as the foundation of medical practice. Unstable truths are a source of skepticism and concern among many physicians. They are also one of the main reasons for the crisis undermining the trust between patient and physician. The quest for the truth in modern medicine passes through the six core concepts of scientific truth: paradigms, methods, borders, criteria, interpretation and inference. The author deliberates each of these concepts through concrete examples at three levels: the historical, the theoretical and the political. The issues serving as the basis of the discussion are of concern to the medical world, and appear at the core of professional and sometimes the public debate: management of coronary heart disease, treatment of bronchial asthma, hormone replacement in menopausal women, early detection of breast cancer, drug therapy for diabetes, conventional vs. alternative medicine.

This introductory book deals with the bonds created between German physicians and the Nazi biomedical vision based upon racial and eugenic conceptions. These ideological connections and the attitudes of many Nazi doctors, culminating in the actions of Mengele and other SS physicians in Auschwitz , may be described as a Medicalization of the Holocaust. In July 1933, the sterilization law was enacted. Under the pretext of war, the Nazi modus operandi was changed to medical murder. It strove to stop the spread of hereditary diseases by gassing to death sick people judged “unfit” to be included among “Aryan Germans”. Although officially abandoned in summer 1941, Hitler used the expertise gained by the medical murderers to design the “Final Solution”. Nazi physicians operated the first annihilation camps like Treblinka, while others initiated the process of Ghettoization, arguing that the Jews were spreading epidemics. The second part of this book depicts the courageous efforts of many Jewish doctors to resist annihilation. In many ghettos, Jewish doctors worked on behalf of the “Judenrat” to try keep people alive. A clandestine medical faculty functioning in the Warsaw ghetto was the pinnacle of Jewish intellectual resistance. Even in concentration camps, physicians attempted to sustain the basic creeds of medical ethics by protecting and saving patients. The last chapters of the book deal with the efforts to cope with the lessons of the Nazi misuse of medicine.

The publication of Korot 2007–2008 has to our regret been seriously delayed. There has, however, already been considerable interest toward the next issues, and thus we trust that Volume 20 will appear within the annual timetable. The main part of this issue of Korot consists of research reports from a workshop on the subject “History as Argument in Biomedicine: Representations of National Socialist ‘Euthanasia’ Between Politics and Historiography, ca. 1945–2000.” This workshop was part of a research project in the context of the Coordinated Research Program “Cultures of Memory” (Sonderforschungsbereich “Erinnerungskulturen”) located at the University of Giessen, Germany. The meeting took place in Beit Hagath in Ein Karem, Jerusalem, on January 29th, 2007. Other themes presented in this volume include questions on the experimental method and on reproductive choices as seen in Talmudic literature, on medieval Jewish physicians in the Arabic cultural area, on Karaite physicians, and on the relationship between modern medicine and the Kabbala, ending with the early stages of the medical profession in Eretz Israel. They thus cover nearly 2,000 years of Jewish medical history. The volume is, as usual, bilingual (English and Hebrew), with contributions from Germany, France and Finland, in addition to Israel. Korot is unique as the only journal devoted to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science. To quote Prof. Leibowitz (z”l), one of the first initiators of Korot, the purpose of the publication is: ...preference for topics based on sources not readily accessible to our colleagues abroad in their researches. Avoiding, as far as possible, a narrow parochial approach, we hope to enlarge the knowledge of medical historical facts and concepts in a field often regarded as somewhat esoteric.1 It is our hope that the present volume of Korot has succeeded in this endeavor. Our special thanks are due to Dr. Kenneth Collins for his kind assistance in the proofreading stage. Our next issue will emphasize the subject of Jews and medicine in the Renaissance period, e.g., Tuviah Cohen and Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo. Our readers are warmly invited to submit articles connected with these subjects, but also any other historical essays related to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science, for publication. Letters to the editor and brief historical notes are also welcome. Helena Paavilainen Guest editor

The book The Truth of Scientific Medicine tries to cope with one of the central problems of modern medicine: the quick pace in which the truths in the base of medicine practice are changed. Unstable truths are the reason for doubts and fears among many who practice medicine. Furthermore, they are one of the main reasons for the credibility crisis between doctor and patient.

"…This unique book has no equal … to date…I enjoyed its flowing style and its simple explanations and I would like to have this book in my library as it should be in the library of anyone who enjoys a treasure such as the Dead Sea" - Prof. Yehuda Shoenfeld The Dead Sea - the world's ultimate natural healing resort for diseases of the skin, joints, lungs, and heart, among others summarizes knowledge on the efficacy of the Dead Sea in the treatment of a broad range of diseases. It details the different diseases that can be treated successfully at the Dead Sea and describes, in simple terms that anyone can understand, the principles, mechanisms of action and advantages upon which the various treatments that are available at the health spas are based. Prof. Shaul Sukenik is a specialist in internal medicine and joint diseases. He has served as the head of Internal Medicine Department "D" of the Soroka University Medical Center since 1989 and was recently appointed as the head of the Division of Internal Medicine. Over the past 15 years Prof. Sukenik has conducted research on the Dead Sea as a unique health spa site for the treatment of joint diseases and has gained an international reputation in the field of balneotherapy and health tourism. He has published over 160 papers in the medical literature.

Bernini revisited is a collection of nine essays on seldom addressed aspects of the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Most of the texts deal with sculpture and the related drawings but there are some references to Bernini's paintings and observations on his architectural projects. The topics include a study of the personal mode of Bernini's drawing, the optical foreshortening phenomena and their artistic remedies, aspects of laterality and meaning of gestures, the figures' physiognomic typology and their facial expressions, self portraits and role-portraits and graphic and sculptural caricatures.

This book explains in simple and understandable words all the principles, mechanisms of action and advantages of all the treatment modalities at health resort areas. This book describes all the diseases that can be treated successfully at the Dead Sea. and is the first one that was written and directed for the general public.