ABSTRACT
Who gets sick? and why? These are among the most profound human questions. Every society has attempted to develop some way to account for the phenomena of disease and death. What are the causes of mortality? and when, in the course of life, does death come? In part, these questions reveal deep moral and philosophical ideals, but they have also engaged other powerful cultural values and beliefs, as well as specific social, medical, and scientific investigation. The nature of morbidity and mortality has historically been subject to dramatic shifts, even over relatively short periods of time.
