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Cultural Variation in Biomedicine: The Kur in West Germany
Author(s) -
Maretzki Thomas W.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.1989.3.1.02a00020
Subject(s) - biomedicine , german , variety (cybernetics) , medical care , variation (astronomy) , persistence (discontinuity) , politics , style (visual arts) , medicine , political science , history , family medicine , law , engineering , genetics , physics , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , artificial intelligence , biology , computer science , astrophysics
Variations within Western biomedicine reveal different cultural styles of therapy, particularly for medical conditions either of uncertain etiology or with diverse and diffuse symptoms. The West German biomedical system consists of an eclectic set of therapies, all offered under physicians' care. The Kur, spa treatments that are part of rehabilitation medicine, exemplifies a form of biomedical care that reflects a distinct cultural style. Though ideal standards of German biomedicine devalue traditional treatments like the Kur, a variety of cultural, economic, and political factors support its persistence.