The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Medicine

Edited by Martin Brune and Wulf Schiefenhovel

A clear structure makes this volume easily accessible for students and scholars.
With over 130 colour images, this book illustrates beautifully the topic of Evolutionary Medicine.
With chapters divided into 'General topics' and 'Specific Organ Systems', readers are able to understand both the relevant evolutionary background information and the application to physiological systems.

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Medicine

Edited by Martin Brune and Wulf Schiefenhovel

Description

Medicine is grounded in the natural sciences, among which biology stands out with regard to the understanding of human physiology and conditions that cause dysfunction. Ironically though, evolutionary biology is a relatively disregarded field. One reason for this omission is that evolution is deemed a slow process. Indeed, macroanatomical features of our species have changed very little in the last 300,000 years. A more detailed look, however, reveals that novel ecological contingencies, partly in relation to cultural evolution, have brought about subtle changes pertaining to metabolism and immunology, including adaptations to dietary innovations, as well as adaptations to the exposure to novel pathogens. Rapid pathogen evolution and evolution of cancer cells cause major problems for the immune system to find adequate responses.

In addition, many adaptations to past ecologies have turned into risk factors for somatic disease and psychological disorder in our modern worlds (i.e. mismatch), among which epidemics of autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity, as well as several forms of cancer stand out. In addition, depression, anxiety and other psychiatric conditions add to the list.

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Medicine is a compilation of cutting edge insights into the evolutionary history of ourselves as a species, and how and why our evolved design may convey vulnerability to disease. Written in a classic textbook style emphasising physiology and pathophysiology of all major organ systems, the Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Medicine will be valuable for students as well as scholars in the fields of medicine, biology, anthropology and psychology.

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Medicine

Edited by Martin Brune and Wulf Schiefenhovel

Part I: General Principles
1. Core Principles for Evolutionary Medicine, Randolph Nesse
2. Cellular Signalling Systems, Diana Le Duc & Torsten Schoneberg
3. Genetics and Epigenetics, Paul Ewald & Holly Swain Ewald
4. Growth and Development, Robin Miriam Bernstein & Barry Bogin
5. Senescence and Ageing, Xiaqing Zhao & Daniel Promislow
6. Nutrition, Body Composition, Physical Activity, and Energy Expenditure, Ann Caldwell, S. Boyd Eaton & Melvin Konner
Part II: Specific Systems
7. Musculoskeletal System, Martin Hausler, Nicole Bender, Lafi Aldakak, Francesco M. Galassi, Patrick Eppenberger, Maciej Henneberg & Frank Ruhli
8. Skin and Integument, Mark Hill
9. Haematopoetic System, Eric Pietras & James DeGregori
10. Immune System, Graham Rook
11. Cardiovascular System, Kevin S. Shah, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Mehdi Nojo & Barbara Natterson-Horowitz
12. Respiratory System, Olga Carvalho & John Maina
13. Digestive System, John Furness, Eve K. Boyle, Josiane Fakhry, Joanna Gajewski & Linda J Fothergill
14. Excretory System, Paola Romagnani & Hans-Joachim Anders
15. Endocrinology, Richard Bribiescas
16. Sexuality, Reproduction, and Birth, Wulf Schiefenhovel & Wenda Trevathan
17. Brain, Spinal Cord and Sensory Systems, Martin Brune
18. The Future of Medicine, Wulf Schiefenhovel & Martin Brune

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Medicine

Edited by Martin Brune and Wulf Schiefenhovel

Author Information

Martin Brune, Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany,Wulf Schiefenhovel, Professor of Medical Psychology and Ethnomedicine, Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology, Germany

Born in Dortmund, Germany, in 1962. Martin Brune graduated in medicine at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Munster in 1988. He completed his neurology training in 1993, and his psychiatry training in 1995. His subsequent training included a Visiting Research Scientist fellowship at the Centre for the Mind, a joint venture of the Australian National University and University of Sydney. He is currently Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine at the LWL University-Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.

Martin Brune's research projects include social cognition in psychiatric disorders, the association of social cognition with social functioning and nonverbal behaviour, game-theoretical scenarios, the effect of oxytocin on social perception and cognition in psychiatric disorders and social interaction in therapeutic settings.

Born in 1943 in Siegen, Germany. Wulf Schiefenhovel graduated in medicine at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen in 1970. In 1965 beginning of ongoing fieldwork in ethnomedicine, anthropology and human ethology in Mainland and Island New Guinea. WS was president of the German Society for Anthropology, the International Society for Human Ethology and fellow of several institutes of advanced study. He teaches human ethology at Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck.

Wulf Schiefenhovel's cross-cultural research projects (mostly centered on Melanesia) include: human reproduction and birth, early infancy, non-verbal behaviour, aggression and aggression control, population genetics and history of Papuan and Austronesian dispersal, ethnomedical concepts and practices, socio-cultural correlates of handedness, language and cognition, evolutionary bases of human religious inclinations, management of acculturation, anthropology of food, evolutionary medicine, ethnoarchaeology, and ethnographic film.

Contributors:

Dr. Lafi Aldakak
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Hans-Joachim Anders
Professor of Internal Medicine
Nephrological Centre of the Ludwig-Maximilian-University
Medical Clinic and Policlinic IV
Munich, Germany

Dr. Nicole Bender
Senior Research Fellow
Evolutionary Morphology and Adaptation Group
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine (IEM)
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Robin Bernstein
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Health and Society Program
Laboratory for Endocrinology and Growth Studies
University of Colorado, Boulder, United States of America

Dr. Barry Bogin
Professor of Biological Anthropology
School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences
Loughborough University, United Kingdom

Eve K. Boyle
Graduate Student
Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology
George Washington University
Washington, D.C., United States of America

Dr. Richard Gutierrez Bribiescas
Professor of Anthropology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Faculty of Development & Diversity
Yale University
New Haven, CT, United States of America

Dr. Martin Brune
Professor of Psychiatry
LWL University Hospital Bochum
Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine
Division of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany

Dr. Ann E. Caldwell
Postdoctoral Fellow
Anschutz Health and Wellness Center,
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, USA

Dr. Olga Carvalho
Invited Assistant
Institute of Histology and Embryology
Faculty of Medicine
University of Coimbra, Portugal

Dr. James DeGregori
Professor
Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
University of Colorado
Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, CO, United States of America

Dr. S. Boyd Eaton
Assoc. Professor of Anthropology and Radiology (Emeritus)
Emory University and Emory School of Medicine
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America

Dr. Patrick Eppenberger
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Paul W. Ewald
Professor and Director of the Program in Evolutionary Medicine
Department of Biology
University of Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America

Josiane Fakhry
Graduate Student
Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience
University of Melbourne, Australia

Linda J Fothergill
Graduate Student
Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience
University of Melbourne, Australia

Dr. John B Furness
Professor
Digestive Physiology and Nutrition Laboratories
Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health
University of Melbourne, Australia

Dr. Joanna Gajewski
Digestive Physiology and Nutrition Laboratories
Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health
Australia

Dr. Francesco M. Galassi
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Martin Hausler
Professor
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Maciej Henneberg
Wood Jones Professor of Anthropological and Comparative Anatomy
The Universiy of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, Australia

Dr. Mark A. Hill
Dept. of Anatomy
School of Medical Sciences
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia

Dr. Melvin Konner
Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor
Department of Anthropology
Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America

Dr. Diana Le Duc
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Evolutionary Genetics
Leipzig, Germany

Dr. John N. Maina
Research Professor
Department of Zoology, Academic Respiration Physiology
University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz
Professor of Medicine
UCLA Division of Cardiology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Adjunct Professor, UCLA Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Dr. Randolph M. Nesse
Foundation Professor of Life Sciences and Founding Director
Center for Evolution and Medicine
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ, United States of America

Mehdi Nojoumi
Graduate Student
UCLA Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Dr. Eric M. Pietras
Assistant Professor
Division of Hematology
University of Colorado Denver
Aurora, CO, United States of America

Dr. Daniel Promislow
Professor
Department of Pathology and Department of Biology
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, United States of America

Dr. Paola Romagnani
Professor of Nephrology
Department of Biomedical and Experimental Sciences 'Mario Serio'
Excellence Centre for Research, Transfer and High Education for the development of DE NOVO Therapies (DENOTHE)
Paediatric Nephrology Unit, Meyer Children's Hospital
University of Florence, Italy

Dr. Graham A.W. Rook
Professor of Medical Microbiology
Centre for Clinical Microbiology, Department of Infection,
UCL (University College London), United Kingdom

Dr. Dr. Frank Ruhli
Professor
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Dr. Wulf Schiefenhovel
Professor of Medical Psychology and Ethnomedicine (Emeritus)
Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology
Human Ethology Group
Seewiesen, Germany

Dr. Torsten Schoneberg
Professor of Molecular Biochemistry
Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine
University of Leipzig, Germany

Dr. Kevin S. Shah
Cardiology Fellow
University of California
Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Dr. Kalyanam Shivkumar
Professor of Medicine & Radiology
UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center & EP Programs
Adult Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories, RR UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Health System
Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Dr. Holly Swain-Ewald
Department of Biology
University of Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America

Dr. Wenda Trevathan
Regents Professor of Anthropology (Emerita)
New Mexico State University, NM, United States of America

Dr. Xiaqing Zhao
Post-doctoral Fellow
Department of Pathology
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, United States of America