Evolutionary
Evolutionary medicine or Darwinian medicine is the application of modern evolutionary theory to understanding health and disease. It provides a complementary scientific approach to the present disease-based understanding of medicine, considering the evolutionary origins and implications of diseases and symptoms.
Overview[edit | edit source]
The field of evolutionary medicine uses evolutionary principles to explain why we get sick, not how. It applies the principles of evolution by natural selection to understand why our bodies are designed the way they are, and why this design sometimes fails.
Evolution and Disease[edit | edit source]
Many diseases and disorders, such as diabetes and obesity, are thought to result from mismatch between our bodies' design and the environment in which we now live. This mismatch theory is a central tenet of evolutionary medicine.
Evolutionary Trade-offs[edit | edit source]
Evolutionary medicine also considers the idea of trade-offs in evolution. For example, our large brains have many advantages, but they also make childbirth more difficult and dangerous.
Evolution and the Immune System[edit | edit source]
The immune system is another area where evolutionary medicine has provided insights. For example, it has helped explain why the immune system sometimes attacks the body's own cells, leading to autoimmune diseases.
See Also[edit | edit source]
- Evolutionary biology
- Evolutionary psychology
- Evolutionary developmental biology
- Evolutionary neuroscience
References[edit | edit source]
External Links[edit | edit source]
| Evolutionary Resources | |
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Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD
