ABSTRACT
The focus of medicine has shifted beyond the question of an art or a science. Disease is at once a biological event, a generation-specific repertoire of verbal constructs reflecting medicine's intellectual and institutional history, an aspect of and potential legitimation for public policy, a potentially defining element of social role, a sanction for cultural norms, and a structuring element in doctor/patient interactions. Health is the proper relationship between the microcosm, which is man, and the macrocosm, which is the universe. Disease is a disruption of this relationship. Even the widely used International Classification of Disease is a compromise, some sections being defined on an aetiological basis like infectious diseases, some on a pathophysiological basis like neoplasms or endocrine disorders, and some on an anatomical basis like cardiovascular or respiratory disesases. The illness and disease notions cannot be fully appreciated without being cognisant about historical and cultural aspects of those affected.
