Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasise (spread). Although a lot has been discussed about cancer in many ancient texts in different languages, this book is unique in the sense that it attempts to compile all available original texts in one place provided with relevant original references. This book is beneficial for anthropologists, sociologists, medical scientists, palaeopathologists, oncologists, epidemiologists, AYUSH systems of medicine and other allied sciences.

Medical anthropology's biocultural approach expands the biomedical perspective that views the health only as a biological issue. Human health and disease derive from the interactions of human's biological potentials with numerous environments through culturally, socially and individually mediated experiences that have effects on biological processes. The research on reproductive health within medical anthropology encompasses people's emic perspective on all matters related to sexuality and reproductive processes, and functions. Children represent the future, and ought to be a prime concern of all societies. Newborns are particularly vulnerable and children are vulnerable to malnutrition and infectious diseases. Both reproductive and child health are affected by a number of socio-cultural factors. Thus, reproductive and child health are important issues to which the medical anthropology can contribute a lot. The salient features of book includes concepts, views and definitions of health; socio-cultural factors that affect health; reproductive and child healthcare practices from the holistic medical anthropological viewpoint; first-hand information collected from female respondents.

As per the new format of question papers , three types of questions -Essay type, Short answer type and Objective type Questions have been added. During the Course of revision of this book we have been guided and assisted by the suggestions of a large number of students and professors of colleges and universities to whom we express our sincere thanks.