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The evolution of human disease: new findings and problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Linda L. Klepinger
Linda L. Klepinger
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA
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Summary

The pattern of human disease is not immutable. Some diseases change their expression; new diseases arise, and some die out. Man's diseases have influenced his history and evolution and, conversely, his biological and cultural evolution have affected his pathology, most powerfully through his alteration of the environment and his changing demographic patterns. This paper briefly reviews the history of those diseases which are, or have been, the leading causes of human morbidity and mortality and draws attention to a curious contrast between the Old and New Worlds.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , October 1980 , pp. 481 - 486
Copyright
Copyright © 1980, Cambridge University Press

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