Author Description

The study of disease in human populations provides insight into the relationships between people and their environments. Changing disease patterns reflect the effect of many factors--biological, ecological, and social--and help illuminate the fundamental nature of disease itself. This book discusses the subject from three complementary viewpoints. Dr. Mascie-Taylor sets out to address the causes of disease and considers the influence of biocultural factors on disease patterns and the historical impact on human populations. Dr. Lewis views disease from the perspective of social and medical anthropology. He discusses the social causes of disease and cultural responses. Prof. Kunitz uses modern and historical data from Polynesia to make comparisons between the different patterns of disease in developing countries. The book will interest biological and social anthropologists as well as all those concerned with tropical and community medicine.