This book discusses medicine from an ethical perspective, whereas books on medical ethics more commonly present ethics from a bio-medical standpoint.

The book is divided into 23 chapters. The introductory chapters present some basic concepts of medical ethics, such as the relation between the legal system and ethics, ethical documents, ethical theories, and ethical analysis. The following chapters address issues of importance in all fields of medicine: respecting autonomy, communication, relations within a healthcare team, professional malpractice, limited resources, and the portrait of a physician. In turn, the third part of the book focuses on ethical aspects in a broad range of medical activities - preventive medicine, human reproduction, genetics, pediatrics, intensive care, palliative medicine, clinical research, unproven methods in diagnostics and treatment, and the role of physicians who aren't directly responsible for patient care. The last part presents students' seminars with case stories.

The book offers a valuable resource for physicians of all specialties, students of medicine, professionals, and students from other fields devoted to human health, journalists, and general readers with an interest in medicine.

Matjaz Zwitter is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Ethics and Law at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, a Professor of Oncology and Radiotherapy at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a Senior Consultant Physician at the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has authored more than 45 papers included in the PubMed database and has co-edited two books: Communication with the cancer patient: information and truth (The New York Academy of Sciences, 1997) and New challenges in communication with the cancer patient (Springer, 2013).

In addition to his formal achievements and positions, his main qualification is 40 years of personal experience devoted to treating patients with cancer.

1;Preface;5 2;Contents;7 3;1: Ethics and Law;14 3.1;1.1 Law;15 3.2;1.2 Ethics;15 3.3;1.3 Law and Ethics: Why Do We Need Two Systems?;16 3.4;Suggested Reading;17 4;2: Ethical Codes and Declarations;19 4.1;2.1 Hippocratic Oath and Other Ancient Documents;20 4.2;2.2 Medical Ethics in Modern Documents;22 4.3;2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Normative Ethics;23 4.4;References;23 4.4.1;Suggested Reading;23 4.4.2;Selected Codes of Medical Ethics;24 5;3: Ethical Theories;26 5.1;3.1 Utilitarian Ethics;28 5.2;3.2 Deontological Ethics;29 5.3;3.3 Virtue Ethics;30 5.4;3.4 The Four Principles and Common Morality Ethics;31 5.5;Reference;33 5.5.1;Suggested Reading;33 6;4: Moral Status;34 6.1;4.1 Who Has Moral Status?;35 6.2;4.2 Criteria for Moral Status;36 6.3;Reference;38 6.3.1;Suggested Reading;38 7;5: Ethical Analysis;39 7.1;Suggested Reading;44 8;6: Autonomy and Its Limitations;45 8.1;6.1 Right to Information;47 8.2;6.2 Right to Confidence;47 8.3;6.3 Right to Privacy;49 8.4;6.4 Voluntary Surrender of Autonomy;50 8.5;6.5 Patients' Autonomy and Cultural Diversity;50 8.6;6.6 Persons with Limited Autonomy;50 8.7;6.7 Surrogate Decision-Makers;51 8.8;6.8 Advanced Directives;52 8.9;6.9 Physician's Autonomy and Conscientious Objection;53 8.10;Suggested Reading;53 9;7: Communication;55 9.1;7.1 Information Flows in Multiple Directions;56 9.2;7.2 Communication as a Process;57 9.3;7.3 Modern Media and the Internet;57 9.4;7.4 The Broad Scope of the Conversation;58 9.5;7.5 The Opaqueness of the Medical Jargon;59 9.6;7.6 Cultural Diversity;60 9.7;7.7 Practical Advice;60 9.8;Suggested Reading;61 10;8: Relations in the Medical Team;63 10.1;8.1 Professional Competence;64 10.2;8.2 Communication in a Medical Team;64 10.3;8.3 Disagreement and Conflicts;65 10.4;8.4 Positive Team Spirit;66 10.5;Suggested Reading;66 11;9: Professional Malpractice;67 11.1;9.1 Mistake, Error, Neglect, Unfortunate Coincidence?;68 11.1.1;9.1.1 Limited Resources, Compromises in Probability-Based Medicine, and the Right to Compensation;69 11.2;9.2 Criminalization of Professional Malpractice;70 11.3;9.3 The Media, the Public, and Professional Mistakes;70 11.4;9.4 Support for the Accused Physician;71 11.5;Reference;71 11.5.1;Suggested Reading;71 12;10: Limited Resources, Priorities, and Corruption;73 12.1;10.1 Consequences of Poorly Organized Healthcare;74 12.2;10.2 Probability-Based Medicine;76 12.3;10.3 Priorities;77 12.4;10.4 Corruption;79 12.5;Reference;80 12.5.1;Suggested Reading;80 13;11: Image of a Physician;82 13.1;11.1 The Physician in Exceptional Circumstances;84 13.2;11.2 Who Is a Good Physician?;85 13.3;11.3 Who Is Draining the Idealism from Our Profession?;86 13.4;11.4 Burnout and the Anchor Outside Medicine;86 13.5;11.5 Conscientious Objection and the Respect of Personal Values;87 13.6;11.6 Digressions;88 13.7;Reference;89 13.7.1;Suggested Reading;89 14;12: Preventive Medicine;90 14.1;12.1 Vaccination;91 14.2;12.2 Healthy Lifestyle;92 14.3;12.3 Protection of Vulnerable Groups of Society;93 14.4;12.4 Epidemiology and Epidemiological Studies;93 14.5;12.5 Return to the Introductory Parable;93 14.6;Suggested Reading;94 15;13: Ethics at the Beginning of Life;95 15.1;13.1 Natural Conception;96 15.1.1;13.1.1 Contraception;96 15.1.2;13.1.2 Morning-After Pill;96 15.1.3;13.1.3 Abortion;96 15.1.4;13.1.4 Prenatal Diagnostics;97 15.1.5;13.1.5 Delivery at Home;98 15.2;13.2 Sterilization;98 15.3;13.3 Insemination or Egg Cell Donation;98 15.4;13.4 Medically Assisted Insemination for Healthy Women;99 15.5;13.5 In Vitro Fertilization;100 15.6;13.6 Surrogate Motherhood;101 15.7;References;102 15.7.1;Suggested Reading;102 16;14: Pediatrics;104 16.1;14.1 The Newborn;105 16.2;14.2 Vaccination;106 16.3;14.3 Child Neglect and Maltreatment;108 16.4;14.4 Chronic Disease and Communication;109 16.5;14.5 Genetics;109 16.6;14.6 Death of a Child;110 16.7;14.7 Research;110 16.8;References;111 16.8.1;Suggested Reading;111 17;15: Genetics;112 17.1;15.1 What Information Can Be Gained from Genetic Testing