Overview

Medical Anthropology: A Biocultural Approach, Fourth Edition, offers an accessible and contemporary overview of this rapidly expanding field. For each health issue examined in the text, the authors first present basic biological information and then expand their analysis to include evolutionary, historical, and cross-cultural perspectives on how these issues emerged and are understood. Medical Anthropology considers how a biocultural approach can be applied to more effective prevention and treatment efforts and underscores medical anthropology's potential to improve health around the world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Andrea S. Wiley ,  John S. Allen
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Edition:   4th edition
Dimensions:   Width: 19.10cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.771kg
ISBN:  

9780197515990

ISBN 10:   0197515991
Pages:   496
Publication Date:   23 October 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

"Preface: A Biocultural Approach to Medical Anthropology What is Distinctive About This Text What Is New In This Edition Outline of the Book Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction: A Biolcultural Approach to Medical Anthropology What Is Anthropology? The Development of Medical Anthropology What is Medical Anthropology? The Culture Concept A Biocultural Perspective Looking Ahead Chapter 2: Anthropological Perspectives on Health and Disease Definitions of Health Disease Illness Sickness Health, Ethics, and Cultural Relativism The Locus of Health: The Body and Society Biological Normalcy Evolutionary Perspectives on Health Adaptability Behavioral Adaptability Cultural Approaches in Medical Anthropology Political Economy of Health Ethnomedical Systems Interpretive Approaches to Illness and Suffering Applied Medical Anthropology Epidemiology Conclusion Chapter 3: Healers and Healing Culture and Healing Systems Recruitment: How Healers Become Healers Alternative and Complementary Medicines Acupuncture Chiropractic Navajo Medicine When Biomedicine is Alternative Medicine Alternative Biomedicines Death as a Biocultural Concept Placebo and Nocebo Harnessing the Power of the Placebo Efficacy Vaccination and Anti-Vaxx Movements Conclusion Chapter 4: Diet and Nutrition in Health and Disease Human Nutrition How Many Nutrients Do You Need? Diet and Digestion Nutrition Transitions in Human Prehistory and History Evolutionary History: Hunter Gatherer and ""Paleo"" Diets Agricultural Transition Post Agricultural Dietary Adaptations and Challenges Lactase persistence/non-persistence and Lactose intolerance Celiac Disease Barry Popkin's Nutrition Transition: Globalization and Ultra-Processing Obesity Diabetes Future Nutrition Transitions and Sustainability Concerns Conclusion Chapter 5: Child Growth and Health Life History Theory Gestation: The First 38 Weeks of Growth and Development Infancy Childhood Small But Healthy? Is Bigger Better? Sex, Gender, Growth, and Health Environmental Toxins and Growth Puberty and the Onset of Adolescence Teenage Pregnancy in the United States Conclusion Chapter 6: Reproductive Health in Biocultural Context Medicalization of Women's Health and Reproductive Health Menstruation Premenstruation Syndrome Determinations of Fertility Infertility The Medicalization of Male Sexual Dysfunction Female Genital Cutting Pregnancy Bird Mothering Bed-Sharing and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Menopause Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer Risk Conclusion Chapter 7: Aging The Aging Body Physiological Theories of Aging Somatic Mutations Free Radicals Wear and Degeneration Telomeres Evolutionary Theories of Aging The Aging Brain Alzheimer's Disease, Genes, and Evolution Extending Life? Caloric Restriction and an Okinawa Case Study Health, Illness, and the Cultural Construction of Aging The Future of Aging Chapter 8: Infectious Diseases: Pathogens, Hosts, and Evolutionary Interplay Koch's Postulates Taxonomy of Infectious Disease Viruses Bacteria Protozoa Fungi Worms Prions How Pathogens Spread Human Defenses Against Pathogens The Immune Response: A Brief Overview Human-Pathogen Coevolution Malaria: A Post-Agricultural Disease Evolutionary Changes in Pathogens Antibiotic Resistance Variation in Pathogen Virulence Allergies and Asthma: Relationship to Infectious Disease Exposure? Conclusion Chapter 9: Globalization, Poverty, and Infectious Disease Emergent and Resurgent Diseases Social Transformations, Colonialism, and Globalizing Infections Smallpox Colonialism and Disease in the Tropics Colonialism's Health Legacy Climate Change and Emerging/Resuring Diseases Cholera Genetic Adaptation to Cholera Dams and Infectious Disease Ebola: The Quintessential ""Emerging Disease"" Tuberculosis: Emerging and Resuring HIV/AIDS: A New(ish) Disease Conclusion Chapter 10: Stress, Social Inequality, and Race and Ethnicity Biology of the Stress Response The Nervous System Stress Response The Hormonal Stress Response Why is Stress Different for Humans? Stress and Biological Normalcy? Stress and Health Cardiovascular Disease Immune Function Child Growth Inequality, Stress, and Health Relative Status Social Cohesion Social Support Race/Ethnicity, Racism/Discrimination and Health in the United States Conclusion Chapter 11: Mental Health and Illness The Medical Model in Biocultural Context Culture-Bound Syndromes Eating Disorders Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Culture Mood Disorders Depression Bipolar Disorder and Creativity The Evolution of Substance Use and Abuse Schizophrenia Sleep Conclusion Epilogue: The Relevance of Medical Anthropology What Can I Do Next If I am Interested in Medical Anthropology? Graduate Programs in Anthropology Public Health Programs Medical Schools and Clinical Health Professions Work in Governmental and Nongovernmental Health Agencies Genetic Counseling Glossary References"

Reviews

Medical Anthropology is the most integrated biocultural text I have found. It provides essential background for students from diverse disciplines and offers an excellent balance of cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and relevant health issues. --Melissa Melby, University of Delaware This is an excellent introduction to medical anthropology. It is well-balanced, accessible, and provides accurate lessons for students as they upend many of their assumptions about culture and its importance in this kind of material. --Roberta Fiske Rusciano, Rider University Medical Anthropology takes a true holistic anthropological approach to the study of health and disease, and provides numerous concrete illustrations of case studies from around the world. --Lianne Tripp, University of Northern British Columbia

Medical Anthropology is the most integrated biocultural text I have found. It provides essential background for students from diverse disciplines and offers an excellent balance of cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and relevant health issues. --Melissa Melby, University of Delaware This is an excellent introduction to medical anthropology. It is well-balanced, accessible, and provides accurate lessons for students as they upend many of their assumptions about culture and its importance in this kind of material. --Roberta Fiske Rusciano, Rider University Medical Anthropology takes a true holistic anthropological approach to the study of health and disease, and provides numerous concrete illustrations of case studies from around the world. --Lianne Tripp, University of Northern British Columbia

"""Medical Anthropology is the most integrated biocultural text I have found. It provides essential background for students from diverse disciplines and offers an excellent balance of cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and relevant health issues.""--Melissa Melby, University of Delaware ""This is an excellent introduction to medical anthropology. It is well-balanced, accessible, and provides accurate lessons for students as they upend many of their assumptions about culture and its importance in this kind of material.""--Roberta Fiske Rusciano, Rider University ""Medical Anthropology takes a true holistic anthropological approach to the study of health and disease, and provides numerous concrete illustrations of case studies from around the world.""--Lianne Tripp, University of Northern British Columbia"

Author Information

Andrea S. Wiley is Professor and Chair of Anthropology at Indiana University, Bloomington. John S. Allen is Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions