MEDICAL QUACKERY: The Scam Continues

The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were infested with unscrupulous frauds who pitched their worthless contrivances and preparations to an unsophisticated population. Even today, with ready information at our fingertips, medical scammers rake in considerable profit by preying on trusting, hopeful victims. Within these pages we trace the evolution of this fraudulent but lucrative practice, describing devices and preparations that cost trusting patients their wealth and, too often, their lives.