Classification, Disease, and Diagnosis

作者：Annemarie Jutel · 发表于：Perspectives in biology and medicine · 年份：2011 · DOI：10.1353/pbm.2011.0015 · 被引用次数：80 · 研究领域：Obesity and Health Practices、Empathy and Medical Education、Mental Health and Psychiatry

Classification shapes medicine and guides its practice. Understanding classification must be part of the quest to better understand the social context and implications of diagnosis. Classifications are part of the human work that provides a foundation for the recognition and study of illness: deciding how the vast expanse of nature can be partitioned into meaningful chunks, stabilizing and structuring what is otherwise disordered. This article explores the aims of classification, their embodiment in medical diagnosis, and the historical traditions of medical classification. It provides a brief overview of the aims and principles of classification and their relevance to contemporary medicine. It also demonstrates how classifications operate as social framing devices that enable and disable communication, assert and refute authority, and are important items for sociological study.