1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910783368203321

Titolo

Evolutionary medicine / / editors, Wenda R. Trevathan, Euclid O. Smith, James J. McKenna

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Oxford University Press, , 1999

©1999

ISBN

0-19-770096-9

1-280-45246-3

9786610452460

0-19-535600-4

1-60256-107-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xvi, 480 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

610

Soggetti

Diseases - Causes and theories of causation

Human evolution

Medicine - Philosophy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Foreword: Historical Overview; Contents; Contributors; Introduction; 1 Is Neonatal Jaundice a Disease or an Adaptive Process?; 2 Infant Crying Behavior and Colic: An Interpretation in Evolutionary Perspective; 3 Breastfeeding and Mother-Infant Cosleeping in Relation to SIDS Prevention; 4 Otitis Media: An Evolutionary Perspective; 5 The Evolutionary Ecology of Childhood Asthma; 6 Evolutionary Perspectives on the Onset of Puberty; 7 Incest Avoidance: Clinical Implications of the Evolutionary Perspective; 8 Evolutionary Obstetrics; 9 Darwinian Medicine and the Emergence of Allergy

10 Using Evolution as a Tool for Controlling Infectious Diseases 11 Evolutionary Control of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Viruses; 12 Paleolithic Nutrition Revisited; 13 Human Evolution, Low Back Pain, and Dual-Level Control; 14 What Darwinian Medicine Offers Psychiatry; 15 Evolution, Substance Abuse, and Addiction; 16 Menopause in Evolutionary Perspective; 17 Breast Cancer in Evolutionary Context; 18 Evolutionary Perspectives on Chronic Degenerative Diseases; Index



Sommario/riassunto

Evolution is the single most important idea in modern biology, shedding light on virtually every biological question, from the shape of orchid blossoms to the distribution of species across the planet. Until recently, however, the theory has had little impact on medical research or practice. Evolutionary Medicine shows how this is beginning to change. Collecting work from leaders in the field, this volume describes an array of new and innovative approaches to human health that are based on an appreciation of our long evolutionary history. For example, it shows how evolution helps to explain the complex relationship between our immune systems and the virulence and transmission of human viruses. It also shows how comparisons between how we live today and how our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived thousands of years ago illuminate a variety of contemporary ills, including obesity, lower-back pain, and insomnia.; Evolutionary Medicine covers issues at every stage of life, from infancy (colic, jaundice, SIDS, parent-infant sleep struggles, ear infections, breast-feeding, asthma) to adulthood (sexually transmitted diseases, depression, overeating, addictions, child abuse, cardiovascular disease, breast and ovarian cancer) to old age (osteoporosis, geriatric sleep problems). Written for a wide range of students and researchers in medicine, anthropology, and psychology, it is an invaluable guide to this rapidly developing field.