Medical Anthro Test 1 Flashcards
Diffusionism
1800-1910. Can trace anything back to its root (point of origin) and watch it diffuse across the globe. Medicine is simply a social process and must be studied like any other. (Flags on a map). Theme: culture change. Non-Western Med: Traceable traits- Skull measuring
Functionalism
1920’s. Analyzes the contribution that each social institution makes to the continuation of the social system. Society like a body- each part must function in order to make the whole work. Began transition from arm chair to field work. Theme: Mechanical efficiency. Non Western Med: Adaptive in context.
prevalence
Measure of burden of disease. Proportional Measurement. Proportion of the population, at a certain time, that are afflicted with a condition. Prevalence /Population
incidence
Measure of development. # of NEW cases reported during a certain period of time. Way to get a measure on a populations interaction with a condition.
epidemic
No prior experience with the disease Ex. SARS, small pox (native americans)
age specific mortality/Infant Mortality
numb of deaths of bebes
endemic
Diseases that have become part of the normal epidemiological profile Ex: Flu
pathogenicity
- once in you does that pathogen make you sick - ability to make you sick
infectivity
- how easily pathogen is able to get into you
virulence
- how bad is the disease/illness once it gets in you
chronic diseases
are illnesses that are prolonged, do not resolve spontaneously, and are rarely curred completely
somatic
physical or corpreal part of an organism
genotypic/phenotypic
Genotypic: Gene
Phenotypic: How it is explained- depends on the gene but may express physically different
Ex: Sickle Cell anemia- homogenic- get sickle cell anemia, heterogenic- adaptation for malaria
Ex: High altitude- 2 brothers- same gene pool. One born at altitude- one not. One will have barrell chest/big lung capacity. Other not born at altitude- will not have. Physical differences: phenotypic differences.
homozygous
bearing two identical alleles at a genetic locus
heterozygous
bearing two different alleles at a genetic locus
SARS
A virulently infectious disease originating in China in 2002, caused by a corona virus.
Emerging Diseases
After the second transition. Humans exploring new areas- new diseases are the result). Ex: Lyme disease, SARS, ebola.
Functionalism
1920’s. Analyzes the contribution that each social institution makes to the continuation of the social system. Began transition from arm chair to field work. Society like a body- each part must function in order to make the whole work.
Interpretive (aka ethnomedical)
Focuses on the meanings that human groups attribute to experiences (ex. Sickness) Meaning over reason. Ex. Meaning of heart vs. liver- experience of transplant recipient. Derived from Cultural Anthropology. How you define what is normal and what is not = culturally specific. Culture is the lens through which we view our bodies. Research: Is threshold of pain the same in every country? Idiom of illness based on cultural assumptions about what makes you sick. Must understand- biomedical approach and cultural understanding. Ex: Leprosy- diff experience in diff parts of the world.
Critical (aka political-economy)
stresses the importace of political and economic structures, especially global capitalism, on the health of human populations.
Sees biomedicine as a mechanism of capitalist state. Biomedicine is a ststem that perpetuates a certain type of political system through overy and covery oppression/ coersion.
Dano
“harm”- caused by sorcery.
Kuru
Interpretive model.