Behavior and Medicine

Behavior and Medicine

Danny Wedding, St. Louis

Mosby Year Book, 522 pp, 185 Illustrations, 1990

This book is aimed at the first year medical student and teaching of the social and behavioral sciences and their relevance for the practice of medicine.

There are five major sections. The first section, “Human Development”, reviews the life span and provides medically relevant information about each life stage. “Love and Work” is the title of the second section, covering human sexuality, sexual dysfunction, family relationships, work adjustment and mental health in medicine. The third section is entitled “Assessing Patients” and examines clinical interviewing, physician/patient relationships, the mental status examination, personality assessment and psychodynamic formulations of human behavior. The fourth section: “Behavioral Medicine” looks at stress and stress management, addictions, chronic benign pain, placebo response, cardiovascular risk and health behavior, and Aids. The final section: “Behavioral Science Foundations” looks at brain and behavior, neurochemistry, sleep and sleep disturbances, Sociology and Anthropology in relationship to medicine and Medical Economics. I found the book very readable; it is multi-authored by many M.D.’s and P.h.D’s, and is concise in its coverage of the topics mentioned above.

Each chapter has several study questions, and a very complete list of appropriate references.

The book is very well illustrated with a wide range of classic works of art, indeed the book is almost a short course in art, painting, lithography etc, the 185 illustrations coming from the classics of the art world, and selected very appropriately for the particular behavioral topic under discussion.

I think it is a excellent book, and will find its place in first year medical school programs in behavioral medicine. It will also be of great value to other professionals working in the health and medical fields. It purposely avoids any depth of psychopathology, as the editor points out that a good basic knowledge of behavior and its relationship to medicine is essential before the students get into more grossly abnormal behavior.