Zoobiquity : What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing

In the spring of 2005, cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz was called to consult on an unusual patient: an Emperor tamarin at the Los Angeles Zoo. While examining the tiny monkey’s sick heart, she learned that wild animals can die of a form of cardiac arrest brought on by extreme emotional stress. It was a syndrome identical to a human condition but one that veterinarians called by a different name—and treated in innovative ways. This remarkable medical parallel launched Natterson-Horowitz on a journey of discovery that reshaped her entire approach to medicine. She began to search for other connections between the human and animal worlds: Do animals get breast cancer, anxiety-induced fainting spells, sexually transmitted diseases? Do they suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, addiction? The answers were astonishing. Dinosaurs suffered from brain cancer. Koalas catch chlamydia. Reindeer seek narcotic escape in hallucinogenic mushrooms. Stallions self-mutilate. Gorillas experience clinical depression. Joining forces with science journalist Kathryn Bowers, Natterson-Horowitz employs fascinating case studies and meticulous scholarship to present a revelatory understanding of what animals can teach us about the human body and mind. “Zoobiquity” is the term the authors have coined to refer to a new, species-spanning approach to health. Delving into evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, veterinary science, and zoology, they break down the walls between disciplines, redefining the boundaries of medicine. Zoobiquity explores how animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and heal patients of all species. Both authoritative and accessible, offering cutting-edge research through captivating narratives, this provocative book encourages us to see our essential connection to all living beings. In the spring of 2005, cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz was called to consult on an unusual patient: an Emperor tamarin at the Los Angeles Zoo. While examining the tiny monkey’s sick heart, she learned that wild animals can die of a form of cardiac arrest brought on by extreme emotional stress. It was a syndrome identical to a human condition but one that veterinarians called by a different name—and treated in innovative ways. This remarkable medical parallel launched Natterson-Horowitz on a journey of discovery that reshaped her entire approach to medicine. She began to search for other connections between the human and animal worlds: Do animals get breast cancer, anxiety-induced fainting spells, sexually transmitted diseases? Do they suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, addiction? The answers were astonishing. Dinosaurs suffered from brain cancer. Koalas catch chlamydia. Reindeer seek narcotic escape in hallucinogenic mushrooms. Stallions self-mutilate. Gorillas experience clinical depression. Joining forces with science journalist Kathryn Bowers, Natterson-Horowitz employs fascinating case studies and meticulous scholarship to present a revelatory understanding of what animals can teach us about the human body and mind. “Zoobiquity” is the term the authors have coined to refer to a new, species-spanning approach to health. Delving into evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, veterinary science, and zoology, they break down the walls between disciplines, redefining the boundaries of medicine.__Zoobiquity__ A revelatory depiction of what animals can teach us about the human body and mind, exploring how animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and heal patients of all species. "Full of fascinating stories.” —Atul Gawande, M.D. Do animals overeat? Get breast cancer? Have fainting spells? Inspired by an eye-opening consultation at the Los Angeles Zoo, which revealed that a monkey experienced the same symptoms of heart failure as human patients, cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz embarked upon a project that would reshape how she practiced medicine. Beginning with the above questions, she began informally researching every affliction that she encountered in humans to learn whether it happened with animals, too. And usually, it did: dinosaurs suffered from brain cancer, koalas can catch chlamydia, reindeer seek narcotic escape in hallucinogenic mushrooms, stallions self-mutilate, and gorillas experience clinical depression. Natterson-Horowitz and science writer Kathryn Bowers have dubbed this pan-species approach to medicine zoobiquity . New York Times Bestseller An O, The Oprah Magazine “Summer Reading” Pick A Discover Magazine Best Book In the tradition of Temple Grandin, Oliver Sacks, and Neil Shubin, the authors, one a cardiologist and psychiatrist and the other a science writer look at the remarkable correspondences between the way human beings and animals live, die, get sick, and heal in their natural settings, delving into an array of disciplines such as evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, cutting-edge medicine, and zoology, to provide an understanding of what animals can teach us about the human body and mind. "Zoobiquity" is the term the authors have coined to refer to a new, species-spanning approach to health. After being called in to consult on a case of heart failure in a monkey at the Los Angeles Zoo, Natterson-Horowitz found herself launched on a journey of discovery that reshaped her entire approach to medicine. In this book she uses case studies and scholarship to explore the ways in which what we know about animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and ultimately heal human patients In the tradition of Temple Grandin, Oliver Sacks, and Neil Shubin, cardiologist and psychiatrist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and science writer Kathryn Bowers look at the remarkable correspondences between the way human beings and animals live, die, get sick, and heal in their natural settings, delving into an array of disciplines--evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, cutting-edge medicine, and zoology--to provide a revelatory understanding of what animals can teach us about the human body and mind. "Zoobiquity" is the term the authors have coined to refer to a new, species-spanning approach to health. After being called in to consult on a case of heart failure in a monkey at the Los Angeles Zoo, Natterson-Horowitz found herself launched on a journey of discovery that reshaped her entire approach to medicine. In Zoobiquity, she uses fascinating case studies and scholarship to explore the ways in which what we know about animal and human commonality can be... Zoobiquity The feint of heart (fainting) Jews and jaguars (cancer) Roar-gasm (sexuality and dysfunction) Zoophoria (substance abuse and addiction) Scared to death (sudden death) Fat planet (obesity) The koala and the clap (sexually transmitted diseases) Grooming gone wild (self-mutilation) Fear of feeding (eating disorders) Leaving the nest (animal adolescence) Dr. House, meet Dr. Doolittle.