Eric Anderson, MD

Alaska is not built to human dimensions: Visitors cannot enjoy it in one big bite -- they have to take it a nibble at a time. A good start would be a small ship cruise of South East Alaska, home of the Baranof Warm Springs.

To journey through the life and times of Lord Joseph Lister, a surgeon who pioneered the use of carbolic spray for antisepsis, is to venture through some of the most hallowed medical halls in Europe.

On a trip down the river Rhone, you'll come upon Viviers -- a tiny village lost in its own world. The town, established in the 5th century, is home to Saint-Vincent Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in France still in use.

The Hospice of Beaune saw its first patient on January 1, 1452, and its last in 1971. The secret to its success? A salt mine and a winery.

Salerno was older. It came into being around the ninth century, but nothing remains today of its existence. In the Chapel of the Work of Mercy, Montpellier still clings to its past. Where pharmacists handed their prescriptions through unobtrusive hatches to reticent nuns, bottles still stand on shelves.

The modern-day city of Bergama has a population of about 50,000, but twenty centuries ago when it was called Pergamum or Pergamon, 150,000 people lived there. Today you can buy a carpet where once upon a time multitudes came to be cured of their ills.

How is socialized medicine going? Just look to the U.K.'s newspapers.

The profession's past is rich in heroes. Among the most notable are the scientists profiled here.