Health, history of medical knowledge, Public Health, basic sciences, doctor-patient relations, Reference, tuberculosis, blood, hysteria 

In this book, medical knowledge comes under scrutiny from an interdisciplinary team of authors that includes sociologists, historians, epidemiologists and human biologists. They begin by examining modern culture and the coexistence of lay beliefs, alternative and complementary therapies, and orthodox scientific views of health and disease. The historical development of medical knowledge is traced in three case studies: on tuberculosis, blood, and hysteria. This journey into the past reveals the profound changes that have taken place in medical knowledge and practice, but also illuminates the rich heritage that has survived in modern medicine. The book concludes by examining the influence of social and cultural factors on the theory and practice of medicine today, the place of ritual, medicine as a mechanism of social control, and factors affecting trust and communication in the relationship between doctor and patient. In so doing, it questions the taken-for-granted status of scientific medical knowledge in Western society. - from Amzon