Systemic Lupus Erythematosus an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation. Autoimmune diseases recognize your own body tissues as being foreign. For Lupus the body's own immune system attacks your own tissues and organ systems but this can cause inflammation of other body systems such as joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs (Lupus). One of the main characteristics of Lupus is a butterfly shaped rash usually in the facial area. This is not always a symptom but it is in most people which is why the logo for lupus is a butterfly.
In order to see a disease for more than just its symptoms and available treatments, as a medical doctor might, you have to look at many other factors such as environment, culture, socio-political factors, and cultural beliefs which is what medical anthropologists do. Anywhere you go around the world, or even just within the United States, there are different practices and in order to get an idea of how disease interacts with the population you have to recognize this idea. Acquiring an illness and healing the ailment is all apart of a human experience. This process will change based upon the different biological and cultural characteristics of a population. Also, this process is influenced by the environment because some types of diseases are only found within a certain geographic boundary. The curing of a certain disease will also change based upon location because some resources might not be available in one population or culture but are in another based on socio-political factors. Since a medical system is apart of a larger culture there are going to be different interpretations of the biology of the human body which will alter the way medical professionals identify symptoms and select an appropriate treatment. Considering all of these things in a combination rather than separately is something medical anthropologists do.
I chose to analyze Systemic Lupus Erythematosus because it hits close to home for me. It is a disease that my mom struggled with since she had been a child. She has since passed away, but while she was alive we would always go on charity walks to support lupus research and the Lupus Foundation of America. I did not always fully understand the reasoning behind walking when I was a child but I just remember having so much fun with her doing it! Another thing I remember is that she had to take many medications to control her symptoms of lupus. As I got a little older my mothers treatment regime and her symptoms began to intrigue me. I would watch closer as I got more interested in becoming a physician which lead me to go to Michigan State and study human biology.
Bibliography:
Lupus Foundation of America. "About Us." Lupus Foundation of America. http://www.lupus.org/about/statistics-on-lupus (accessed July 13, 2014).
Mayo Clinic. "Lupus." Definition. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/basics/definition/con-20019676 (accessed July 13, 2014).
Lupus Foundation of America. "About Us." Lupus Foundation of America. http://www.lupus.org/about/statistics-on-lupus (accessed July 13, 2014).
Mayo Clinic. "Lupus." Definition. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/basics/definition/con-20019676 (accessed July 13, 2014).