In the first comprehensive exploration of the history and practice
of folk medicine in the Appalachian region, Anthony Cavender melds
folklore, medical anthropology, and Appalachian history and draws
extensively on oral histories and archival sources from the
nineteenth century to the present. He provides a complete tour of
ailments and folk treatments organized by body systems, as well as
information on medicinal plants, patent medicines, and
magico-religious beliefs and practices. He investigates folk
healers and their methods, profiling three living practitioners: an
herbalist, a faith healer, and a Native American healer. The book
also includes an appendix of botanicals and a glossary of folk
medical terms.
Demonstrating the ongoing interplay between mainstream scientific
medicine and folk medicine, Cavender challenges the conventional
view of southern Appalachia as an exceptional region isolated from
outside contact. His thorough and accessible study reveals how
Appalachian folk medicine encompasses such diverse and important
influences as European and Native American culture and America's
changing medical and health-care environment. In doing so, he
offers a compelling representation of the cultural history of the
region as seen through its health practices.