How anthropologists study health, illness, and healing practices across cultures.
30 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What is medical anthropology?
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The study of health, illness, and healing across cultures and societies, examining how culture shapes these experiences- What is a culture-bound syndrome?
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A mental or physical illness specific to or prevalent in particular cultural groups, with symptoms recognized within that culture- What does 'hot and cold' refer to in Latin American traditional medicine?
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A classification system that categorizes foods, illnesses, and remedies as either 'hot' or 'cold' in terms of their properties, not temperature- What is humoral theory?
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An ancient medical theory that the body contains four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) that must remain balanced for health- What is the biomedical model?
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A model that views health as the absence of disease and focuses on biological and physiological factors while minimizing social and psychological factors- What is ethnomedicine?
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The study of health beliefs, practices, and remedies characteristic of specific ethnic or cultural groups- Define medical pluralism
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The coexistence and use of multiple medical systems within the same society or individual- How does culture influence the placebo effect?
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Cultural beliefs and expectations about treatment shape the placebo response, with stronger effects in cultures with high trust in medical authority- What is medicalization?
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The process by which non-medical issues or conditions become defined and treated as medical problems- What is the sick role according to Talcott Parsons?
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A social role that individuals adopt when ill, involving expectations to seek medical help and temporary exemption from normal social duties- What are explanatory models of illness?
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Individual and cultural frameworks that people use to understand the causes, symptoms, and appropriate treatments for illness- What key assumption does Western biomedicine make about the body?
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That the body is a machine that can be understood through scientific reduction and treated through targeted interventions- What is shamanism in medical anthropology?
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Spiritual healing practice in which a shaman acts as an intermediary between the spiritual and physical worlds to diagnose and treat illness- What are the functions of healing rituals?
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They provide psychological comfort, reinforce cultural identity, facilitate social support, and may trigger physiological healing mechanisms- How does culture shape the interpretation of mental health?
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Mental health symptoms are interpreted differently across cultures, with some conditions recognized in some cultures but not others, and presentation varying by cultural background
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