Midterm Flashcards
Disease
An alteration of physiology such that the function of a given physiological system is compromised.
adaptability
Shortest term, nonheritable physiological changes that occur in individuals when they are confronted with immediate challenges to their survival
adaptations
A trait that confers some survival or reproductive advantage
Armchair Anthropologist
When a scholar sits in his office and reads other peoples work and comes up with theories and ideas without ever acutally going into the field.
biocultural perspective
A perspective that considers the social, ecological and biological aspects of thelath issues, and importantly, how these intersact thin and across population and over evolutionary time.
biological normalcy
The assumption that all human biologies resemble those of one group. Historically European biology has been considered the “norm” for the species, and hence the “normal” type of biology. Others are hence “abnormal”.
Biomedicine
The form of medicine that developed out of the scientific tradition in eighteenth-century Europe. It views disease as having a unique biological cause within the body
critical medical anthropology
An analysis of how power differentials affect health
Cultural Relativism
The evaluation of other cultures most not be in relation to another judged superior (which had often been Western civilization), but rather cultures must understood or “Made sense of” on their own terms.
Culture
The beliefs, values, practices, and traditions of behavior of a group.
enamel hypoplasia
Bands of thin enamel in theeth indicate periods of growth disruption. Can be used to ascertain the relative duration of the growth stoppage, with wider bands indicative of more prolonged disruption compared to thinner bands, which indicate a shorter period of growth stoppage. Placement of bands also provides insight into the age at which the growth disruption occurred.
environment of evolutionary adaptation
The environment in which important aspects of an organism’s evolution occurred, and hence the enviroment to which they are best adapted.
Ethnocentrism
having or based on the idea that your own group or culture is better or more important than others
Ethnomedicine
Healing traditions of a given culture.
Ethnopharmacology
The study of indigenous medicines
Eugenics
a science that tries to improve the human race by controlling which people become parents
fitness(in the context of evolution)
Reproductive success
Functionalism
a theory that stresses the interdependence of the patterns and institutions of a society and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity
Great Chain of Being
a belief that all creatures and nature are organized in a hierarchal manner, from god all the way down to inanimate objects like a rock.
Harris lines
Horizontal bands visible on the long bones that indicate periods of growth stoppage and an apporoximation of the age at which growth was disrupted.
Health
The World Health organization defines health as “a state of complete social, psychological, and physical well-being>” what constitutes health of a “Healthy” state is variable cross-culturally.
Humoral medicine
medical understanding of the body as a set of humors that need to be in balance for health to be maintained
Illness
a disease or period of sickness affecting the body or mind
interpretive approach
The attepmt to understand medical systems, health, and disease strictly within their cultural contexts
macronutrients
a chemical element or substance (as protein, carbohydrate, or fat) required in relatively large quantities in nutrition
Medicaliztion
The Defining of a condition as a disease or a condition in need of medical surviellance.
micronutrients
an organic compound (as a vitamin) essential in minute amounts to the growth and health of an animal
Morbidity
Disease or the symptoms of disease
Mortality
Death
nocebo effect
The causation of sickness(or death) by expectations of sickness(or death) and by associated emotional states
Participant Observation
The Participation in, yet detached observance of, a group’s behavior that is the hallmark of ethnographic feildwork
placebo effect
Improvement in the condition of a patient that occurs in responcse to treatment but cannot be considered due to the specific treatment used.
Secualar Trends
a long-term historical trend in some variable. Increases in height and wieght over the twentieth century are examples of secular trends
sick role
A socially recongnized set of different expectations for individuals with a socially recognized disease or illness.
