Culture, health and illness / Cecil G. Helman.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: the scope of medical anthropology -- The body: cultural definitions of anatomy and physiology -- Diet and nutrition -- Caring and curing: the sectors of health care -- Doctor-patient interactions -- Gender and reproduction -- Pain and culture -- Culture and pharmacology: drugs, alcohol and tobacco -- Ritual and the management of misfortune -- Cross-cultural psychiatry -- Cultural aspects of stress and suffering -- Migration, globalization and health -- Telemedicine and the internet -- New bodies, new selves: genetics and biotechnology -- Cultural factors in epidemiology -- The AIDS pandemic -- Tropical diseases: malaria and leprosy -- Medical anthropology and global health -- New research methods in medical anthropology

This new edition meets the ever-growing need for a clear starting point in understanding the clinical significance of cultural and social factors. The book addresses the complex interactions between health, illness and culture by setting out anthropological theory in a highly, readable jargon-free style.