Vertigo: five physician scientists and the quest for a cure

Vertigo: Five Physician Scientists and the Quest for a Cure follows a centuries long trek. The book follows the key discoveries made by Prosper Meniere (1799-1862) who first recognized that vertigo could originate from the inner ear, Josef Breuer (1842-1925) who conducted groundbreaking research on the inner ear during his evenings at home after he spent his days working in a busy private medical practice, Robert Barany (1876-1936) who received the Nobel Prize for his early work on the inner ear, Charles Hallpike (1900-1979) who showed that BPPV originates from the inner ear, and Harold Schuknecht (1917-1996) who provided key observations on the mechanism of BPPV. --Publisher description.

Ménière recognizes that vertigo can originate from the inner ear -- Ménière, a man of many interests -- Breuer discovers how the balance portion of the inner ear works -- Breuer, the Renaissance man -- Breuer's experiments on the semicircular canals and otolith organs -- Breuer's contributions to psychiatry and philosophy -- Politzer's otology clinic and the discovery of the caloric test -- Bárány's formative years and the conflict in Politzer's clinic -- The war years and Bárány's decision to leave Vienna -- Bárány's test battery and the first description of BPPV -- Bárány's life in Uppsala and his work with Lorente de Nó -- Hallpike and the pathology of Ménière's disease -- Hallpike's formative years -- Hallpike's caloric test -- Hallpike defines the syndrome of BPPV -- Schuknecht and his breakthrough on BPPV -- Schuknecht's temporal bone bank in Boston -- Schuknecht's crusade against myths in otology -- Semont and Epley maneuvers -- Evolution of treatment maneuvers for BPPV -- Summary and future directions.