Medical sociology was first recognizable as a distinct area of study in the 1950s and is now probably the largest specialized area of sociology. This collection comprises a comprehensive statement of the history, current concerns and relevance of medical sociology to an understanding of health and health care worldwide. The articles included are genuinely international in two important respects: they represent the best of contemporary scholarship worldwide, and they have applicability to all types of society and health care systems.A general introduction in the first volume provides a review of the development and state of medical sociology internationally as well as a rationale for the collection as a whole. Each of the four volumes also has its own introduction, and each of the four sections within each volume is preceded by a brief rationale.Titles also available in this series include, Child Welfare (November 2004, 4 Volumes, £495) and the forthcoming collection Health Care Systems (2005, 3 Volumes, c.£395).