This important volume includes key papers which outline the history, concepts, research findings and recent controversies in medical anthropology - the cross-cultural study of health, illness and medical care. Among the topics covered are transcultural psychiatry, food and nutrition, anthropology of the body, alcohol and drug use, traditional healers, childbirth and bereavement and the applications of medical anthropology to international health issues, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria prevention and family planning. It is a valuable resource not only for scholars and students of medical anthropology but also for health professionals working in multi-cultural settings, or in international medical aid programmes. Prize: Professor Cecil Helman was the winner of the 2008 George Abercrombie Award, one of the highest awards given by the Royal College of General Practitioners and awarded to 'the person who has made an outstanding contribution to the literature of general practice'. 'Some very distinguished and oft-cited contributors have been included alongside some less well-known but nevertheless interesting and accomplished scholars and practitioners, making the book well-rounded and accessible to many audiences. As medical anthropology is an eclectic and multidisciplinary area of study, the editor is to be commended for aiming to make it relevant to as wide a readership as is possible.' Health Sociology Review 'There is a good deal of material of interest in this volume...' Health and History