| Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications, Future Prospects Contributor(s): Elton, Sarah (Editor), O'Higgins, Paul (Editor) |
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ISBN: 1420051342 ISBN-13: 9781420051346 Publisher: CRC Press OUR PRICE: $218.50 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2008 Annotation: With evolutionary medicine now maturing, further interaction between anthropologists, life scientists, and health professionals is crucial for progress. This book presents an overview of the state of the science, integrating theory and practice to contribute to the development of reflexive thought within evolutionary medicine. International contributors from anthropology, the life sciences, and medicine provide their perspectives on how evolutionary approaches can inform medical practical and education. They take a critical, reflexive approach, in order to move the field from the descriptive to the analytical, and consider how and when it is useful to apply evolutionary thought to medicine. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Life Sciences - Evolution - Medical |
| Dewey: 599.938 |
| LCCN: 2008010668 |
| Series: Society for the Study of Human Biology |
| Physical Information: 0.88" H x 6.55" W x 9.23" (1.29 lbs) 316 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Can an evolutionary perspective be integrated in day-to-day practice and is it of value in medical education and training? If so, when and how? Highlighting exciting areas of research into the evolutionary basis of health and disease, Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications and Future Prospects answers these questions and more. It draws on work from anthropologists, life scientists, and clinicians to provide a multidisciplinary perspective. Contributors emphasize practical applications and address how their work may inform clinical practice and medical education. They consider when evolutionary viewpoints might and might not be useful and conduct critical debates on controversial areas such as race-based pharmaceuticals. Presenting new data and weighing relevant evidence, the book introduces novel viewpoints on nutrition, diabetes, fertility, pediatrics, immune response, and psychiatry. The book brings anthropologically sophisticated, evidence-based discussions to common beliefs such as the role decreased parasite load plays in increasing vulnerability to certain diseases, variations in human environments and human adaptability, daily protein requirements, reasons for early pregnancy loss, and optimal mother-infant sleeping arrangements, as well as fresh ideas about syndromes as diverse as delusions and polycystic ovary syndrome. A critical assessment of evolutionary medicine and its potential to unlock the mysteries behind some of today's most baffling chronic diseases, this book provides physicians with a more accurate view of the body and a better ability to assess health and disease. |