Medical Pluralism is by now recognized as a reality in many countries. Studies, however, bringing together anthropologists and historians working on this subject are still rare. A comparative view on Germany and India with their different patterns of institutionalisation of medical pluralism is particularly rewarding. This volume focuses on practices starting with the story of a Transsylvanian lay healer who functioned in Lahore as a cultural broker. Indigenising of homoeopathy in Bengal shows a particular mode of appropriation. Patients and their choices are considered for the late 19th and late 20th century Germany and in present day India. In addition to the practices of lay healers as health care providers in Bengal and in Indian slums, independent General Practitioners and physicians working in the public health care system are analysed too. A case study of an Indian hospital shows a pragmatic way to introduce medical pluralism into a modern "allopathic" institution. The political debate on medical pluralism e.g. in the German Reichstag in the beginning of the 20th century is also one of the topics. The book concludes with a theoretical reflection on the concept of medical pluralism.
Drawing in particular on physicians’ casebooks, Medical Practices, 1600-1900 studies the changing nature of ordinary medical practice in early modern Europe. Combining case studies on individual German, Austrian and Swiss practitioners with a comparative analysis across the centuries, it offers the first comprehensive and systematic overview of the major aspects of premodern practitioners daily work and business – from diagnostic and therapeutic approaches and the kinds of patients treated to financial issues, record keeping and their place in contemporary society.
Translational Ayurveda is the implementation of translational medicine ideas taking into account Ayuraveda’s unique health care principles and their application in patient care. This book addresses various domains of Ayurveda, discussing its fundamentals and clinical practice in terms of the various modalities available, and offering deep insights into what is actually described in the classical Ayurveda texts. It also explores the public health impacts of such classical thoughts from a completely new angle. In Ayurveda, there are huge gaps between knowledge and its practical application. The book identifies these gaps to provide a new perspective on Ayurvedic wisdom in light of contemporary scientific advances.
This volume adds to the plurality of global histories by locating the global through its articulation and manifestation within particular localities. It accomplishes this by bringing together interlinked case-studies that analyse various temporal and spatial dimensions of the global in the local and the interactions between the local and the global. The case-studies apply a spatial approach to analyse how global questions of space, movement, networks, borders, and territory are worked out at a local level. The material draws on the Nordic countries, Europe, the Atlantic world, Africa, and Australia and ranges from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. It is further divided into sections that address topics such as the translocality of humans and goods, local articulations of identities and globalities, parliamentarism and anti-colonialism, the organization of knowledge and the construction of spaces of representation and memory.
It is often assumed that a recognisably modern sporting culture did not emerge until the eighteenth century. The plethora of physical training and games that existed before 1700 tend to fall victim to rigid historical boundaries drawn between "modern" and "pre-modern" sports, which are concerned primarily with levels of regulation, organization and competitiveness. Adopting a much broader and culturally based approach, the essays in this collection offer an alternative view of sport in the early modern period. Taking into account a variety of competitive as well as non-competitive forms of sport, physical training and games, the collection situates these types of activities as institutions in their own right within the socio-cultural context of early-modern Europe. Treating the period not only as a precursor of modern developments, but as an independent and formative era, the essays engage with overlooked topics and sources such as court records, self-narratives, and visual materials, and with contemporary discussions about space, gender and postcolonial studies. By allowing for this increased contextualization of sport, the collection is able to integrate it into more general historical questions and approaches. The volume underlines how developments in early modern sport influenced later developments, whilst at the same time being thoroughly shaped by contemporary notions of the body, status and honour. These notions influenced not only the contemporary sporting fashion but the adoption of sports in elite education, the use of sports facilities, training methods and modes of competition, thus offering a more integrated idea of the place of sport in early modern society.
Medical ideas and practices originating in China became entangled in the activities of other places through processes of alteration once known as translatio. Recognition of differences provoked creative responses in Japan, the imperial court, and Enlightenment Europe.
Focusing on emerging therapies and those best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence, Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine describes some of the most prevalent and the fastest-growing CAM therapies in use today. Prominent author Dr. Marc Micozzi provides a complete overview of CAM, creating a solid foundation and context for therapies in current practice. Coverage of systems and therapies includes mind, body, and spirit; traditional Western healing; and traditional ethnomedical systems from around the world. Discussions include homeopathy, massage and manual therapies, chiropractic, a revised chapter on osteopathy, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, naturopathic medicine, and nutrition and hydration. With its wide range of topics, this is the ideal CAM reference for both students and practitioners! An evidence-based approach focuses on treatments best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence. Coverage of CAM therapies and systems includes those most commonly encountered or growing in popularity, so you carefully evaluate each treatment. Global coverage includes discussions of traditional healing arts from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Longevity in the market makes this a classic, trusted text. Expert contributors include well-known writers such as Kevin Ergil, Patch Adams, Joseph Pizzorno, Victor Sierpina, and Marc Micozzi himself. Suggested readings and references in each chapter list the best resources for further research and study. New, expanded organization covers the foundations of CAM, traditional Western healing, and traditional ethnomedical systems from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, putting CAM in perspective and making it easier to understand CAM origins and contexts. NEW content includes legal and operational issues in integrative medicine, creative and expressive arts therapies, ecological pharmacology, hydration, mind-body thought and practice in America, osteopathy, reflexology, South American healing, traditional medicines of India, and Unani medicine. Revised and updated chapters include aromatherapy, classical acupuncture, energy medicine, biophysical devices (electricity, light, and magnetism), massage and touch therapies, traditional osteopathy, reflexology, vitalism, and yoga. New research studies explain how and why CAM therapies work, and also demonstrate that they do work, in areas such as acupuncture, energy healing, and mind-body therapies. Expanded content on basic sciences includes biophysics, ecology, ethnomedicine, neurobiology, and pschoneuroimmunology, providing the scientific background needed to learn and practice CAM and integrative medicine. Expanded coverage of nutrition and hydration includes practical information on Vitamin D and healthy hydration with fluid and electrolytes.
In this updated reissue of their classic Homeopathy: A Frontier in Medical Science, Italian physicians Paolo Bellavite and Andrea Signorini thoroughly examine previous and current literature on the science of homeopathy in order to discover answers to the elemental questions about homeopathy. Bellavite and Signorini engage in a fascinating discussion of the biophysics of water, biological effects of electomagnetic fields, chaos theory, and fractals.
