This second edition, published in 1997 follows the original edition from 1981 which was the only published ethnography of medical education in the UK. The theoretical, methodological and substantive issues continue to be of importance to the sociology and anthropology of medicine and medical knowledge. Indeed, critiques of contemporary ‘biomedicine’ and the growing interest in the sociology of the body have made its central concerns of even greater significance than when the first edition was published.

Covering topics including the clinical tradition, the social distribution of bedside knowledge, reproducing disease, and the clinical setting, this expanded edition builds on the success of the first and will interest researchers and clinicians in the fields of sociology, anthropology and medicine.

This book was originally published as part of the Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research series edited by Paul Atkinson, Sara Delamont and Amanda Coffey. The series publishes original sociological research that reflects the tradition of qualitative and ethnographic inquiry developed at Cardiff. The series includes monographs reporting on empirical research, edited collections focussing on particular themes, and texts discussing methodological developments and issues.