*A New York Times Notable Book* From the author of the National Book Award-winning How We Die comes a blend of “fascinating stories…about human anatomy and the surgeon’s complicated profession” ( Chicago Tribune ). Dr. Sherwin Nuland, “a gifted and deeply intelligent writer” ( San Francisco Chronicle ), combines knowledge, compassion, and elegance of expression to shed light on the workings of our bodies from the perspective of a surgeon. Dr. Nuland recounts age-old legends about the functions and "personalities" of the body's organs and, in riveting vignettes of the surgery he has performed, he describes the connections between myth and reality. A brilliant blend of science and folklore, The Mysteries Within reveals the enigmas not only of the body but also of the human imagination.