ABSTRACT
The structure and organisation of medicine as it relates to sport has a profound impact on the manner in which elite sporting performers are treated when they become injured. This chapter will start by exploring the foundation of modern sports medicine in order to establish a background for understanding the medical treatment of injury today. It has long been assumed that the heart is the most important organ in the body, and by focusing on the athlete's heart and elementary understandings of it in relation to physical activity, this chapter will enable readers to ground their understanding in the history of sports medicine. After this discussion the chapter turns to explore the relationship between medical anthropology, sport and performance-enhancing substances.
