List of medical textbooks

This is a list of medical textbooks, manuscripts, and reference works.

Egypt

 * Ramesseum medical papyri (ca. 1800 BC)
 * Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus (ca. 1800 BC)
 * London Medical Papyrus (ca. 1600 BC)
 * Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1550 BC)
 * Edwin Smith Papyrus (ca. 1500 BC) - Earliest mention of the brain; the pulse; the role of the heart in circulating blood, but not complete circulation. It is the world's oldest surgical textbook, containing descriptions of the zygomatic bone, dura mater,  cerebrospinal fluid, and nasal cavity.
 * Brugsch Papyrus (ca. 1200 BC)

Greece

 * Hippocratic Corpus (ca. 400 BC to 200 AD) - Contains many important medical treatises including the Hippocratic Oath. Compared with the Egyptian papyri, the Hippocratic writings exhibit an improved understanding of brain structure and function. It correctly attributed the primary control of the body's function to the brain.
 * Galenic corpus (ca. 200 BC)
 * De Materia Medica (Dioscorides) (ca. 50 AD)
 * Medical Compendium in Seven Books (ca. 600 AD)

China

 * Huangdi Neijing (ca. 300 BC) - Most authoritative Chinese source on medical matters for over two millennia. It contributed to the Chinese understanding of anatomy, and it continues to be used as an influential reference work for practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. The book contains many guidelines and recommendations for the prevention of chronic diseases and micronutrient deficiencies such as beriberi, xerophthalmia, and goitre.
 * Wushi'er Bingfang (ca. 200 BC)
 * Shennong Ben Cao Jing (ca. 200 AD)
 * Shanghan Lun (ca. 220 AD)
 * Compendium of Materia Medica (ca. 1578 AD)

India

 * Sushruta Samhita (ca. 300 BC) - Early description of cataract surgery. The Sushruta Samhita emphasizes the importance of anatomical structure and function, and it contains the earliest written description of the pedicled flaps. It was translated into Arabic during the latter part of the 8th century.
 * Charaka Samhita (ca. 300-500 AD) - One of the fundamental texts of Ayurveda medicine, it was translated into Chinese, Arabic, and Tibetan languages.
 * Kashyapa Samhita
 * Bower Manuscript (ca. 400 AD)

Islamic Golden Age

 * De Gradibus (ca. 800 AD)
 * Adab al-Tabib (ca. 800 AD)
 * Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye (ca. 800 AD)
 * Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah (ca. 800 AD)
 * Kitab al-Taṣrif (ca. 1000 AD) - First surgical encyclopedia.


 * Book of Optics (ca. 1000 AD) - Exerted great influence on Western science. It was translated into Latin and it was used until the early 17th century. The German physician Hermann von Helmholtz reproduced several theories of visual perception that were found in the first Book of Optics, which he cited and copied from.


 * The Canon of Medicine (Ca. 1000 AD) - Described by Sir William Osler as a "medical bible" and "the most famous medical textbook ever written". The Canon of Medicine introduced the concept of a syndrome as an aid to diagnosis, and it laid out an essential framework for a clinical trial. It was translated into Latin by Gerard de Sabloneta and it was used extensively in European medical schools. It also became the most authoritative text on anatomy until the 16th century.


 * Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon (ca. 1200 AD) - Contains the first description of the pulmonary circulation system, and the first description of the presence and function of coronary circulation.


 * Anatomy Charts of the Arabs (ca. 1900)

Anatomy

 * Gray's Anatomy
 * Gray's Anatomy for Students

Anesthesiology

 * Practical Management of Pain
 * Textbook of Pain - Most comprehensive scientific reference text on pain. The textbook's founding editors were Patrick David Wall and Ronald Melzack, who jointly introduced the gate control theory into the field of pain research.

Cardiology

 * Hurst's the Heart

General reference

 * Reference guides
 * Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
 * Goldman's Cecil Medicine
 * Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics
 * The Merck Manuals 
 * The Oxford Textbook of Medicine
 * The Principles and Practice of Medicine


 * Dictionaries and encyclopedias
 * Miller-Keane Encyclopedia & Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health
 * Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
 * The Modern Home Physician


 * Handbooks
 * Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine


 * National and international publications


 * Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) - Official publication of the American Psychiatric Association


 * International Classification of Diseases (ICD) - Official publication of the World Health Organization

Internal medicine

 * Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine

Oncology

 * Abeloff's Clinical Oncology
 * Skin Cancer: Recognition and Management

Pharmacology

 * British National Formulary

Radiology

 * ABC of Emergency Radiology

Surgery

 * Schwartz's Principles of Surgery