Description:
A comprehensive account of the history and practice of folk medicine in the Appalachian region. Anthony Cavender provides a tour of ailments and treatments organized by body systems and covers medicinal plans, patent medicines, and magico-religious practices. He also profiles three living practitioners: an herbalist, a faith healer, and a Native American healer. Includes an appendix of botanicals and a glossary of folk medical terms.
Brief description: Anthony Cavender is professor of anthropology at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. He is editor of A Folk Medical Lexicon of South Central Appalachia.
Review Quotes: "A vivid picture of folk medical practices in southern Appalachia that dispels the notion of the region's residents as geographically and culturally isolated by placing their traditions firmly within the broader context of Euro-American folk medicine." --North Carolina Historical Review