Perhaps all diseases have a vascular component. A recent discovery has shown that it is possible to treat some forms of cancer by stopping the vascularisation of tumours. It has also been found that controlling the vascularisation of the eye can halt the development of certain eye diseases, including macular degeneration, an age-related ailment that can result in blindness. Even obesity, which especially concerns young people in rich countries, can be overcome by stopping the vascularisation of fatty tissues. Other diseases also seem to succumb to similar vascularisation-regulating therapies.

Pierre Corval explains the ramification of the vascular tree (arteries, veins, blood vessels) that irrigates the whole body, nourishing cells and removing waste by-products. He describes how and why the new vascularisation-regulating therapies offer hope that a cure will be developed for many devastating diseases.

Besides furthering our understanding of the functioning of our bodies, this scientific work makes us hope and trust in the creativity of medical therapies.

The medicine of tomorrow is presented here by a renowned physician who is also a professor of experimental medicine at the prestigious Collège de France. In an accessible scientific work that will interest anyone who wishes to know more about the human body and how it works, he tells us what we should know now about the health care of the future.

This fascinating book about the tree of life is also a brilliant illustration of the profound unity that governs the living world.

Pierre Corvol is a professor of experimental medicine at the Collège de France and also its Administrator. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

Nicolas Postel-Vinay is a physician specialising in popularising medical knowledge.

They are the authors of Le Retour du docteur Knock (2000).