ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Anorexia Nervosa, Ethnomedicine, Biomedicine
2 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Ethno-medicine: the study of cross-cultural health systems; healthcare systems everywhere. Medical anthropology: traditionally a subfield of cultural anthropology. Health system: perceptions and classifications of health problems, prevention measures, diagnosis, healing and healers. Western biomedicine: healing approach based on modern western science that emphasizes technology in diagnosing and treating health problems in a ethno medical system. Explanatory model of why we get sick are products of culture. Hippocrates (ancient greek: 4 humors (blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile) Most sick people - excess heat & moisture (fever, sweating, cough) Miasma: sickness due to contaminated air, fear of fog or strange smells (bring plagues and diseases, europe, india and china. Contagion: physical contact between people, diseases transmitted through aura , 15-1600s. Hot and cold theory of disease: important aspect of latin-american folk medical practice, emphasis on a body in balance, cold: arthritis, colds, flu, joint pain. Consume hot items to cure, warm with blanket etc.
