International (but English) equivalents to William's Obstetrics?

May 9, 2012 6:10 PM

I'm a medical student in the US, but having had a peripatetic childhood I have long had a fascination with cultural differences in medical practice. I'm hoping to go into OB, and was wondering what the granddaddy texts in other English-speaking countries are. Any suggestions?
posted by eglenner to Education (7 answers total)

Are you looking for texts that are still medically relevant, or just ones that are culturally important?
posted by ocherdraco at 7:30 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: well - for OB and international I'd throw Myles Textbook for Midwives into the ring, as a grandmommy (?) text, printed in the UK. it's on it's 15th or 16th edition now, I think.
posted by circle_b at 7:58 PM on May 9, 2012

Lawrence and Bennet's pharmacology which is most likely out of print gives interesting insights into the relationships people of Britain have with medicine.

Follies and Fallacies in Medicine is also very entertaining but does not fit your original requirement but addresses some of it
posted by london302 at 2:31 AM on May 10, 2012

Boyd's Pathology is famous for its colourful language and reference to culture of its time
posted by london302 at 2:33 AM on May 10, 2012

A whopper of a book so watch out for shipping charges! if you have any interest in how the practice of medicine is reflected in Art throughout the ages then I heartly receommend this book:
Die Geschichte der Medizine im Spiegel der Kunst. Even before I spoke German I leafed through it endlessly and I often used shots from it in PowerPoint presentations to great effect.
posted by Wilder at 5:45 AM on May 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

You should consider taking a medical anthropology course if one is available. The one the nursing students take at my undergrad college covers topics you'd probably find interesting. Nurses and midwives may be more attuned to cultural differences in pregnancy and childbirth than MDs.
posted by mareli at 10:17 AM on May 10, 2012

Response by poster: In answer to ocherdraco, I'm looking for standard textbooks that all midwives/OBs would have read for training or at least know the name of. I was thinking the ones that are still medically relevant, although ones with historical interest are always intriguing as well. So circle_b's answer was most along the lines of what I was thinking, although everyone's suggestions have been fantastic.

Alas, mareli, I am in a school that doesn't have a medical anthro class, although my masters was in essentially that topic.
posted by eglenner at 3:58 PM on May 11, 2012