Over the past half-century, the social terrain of health and illness has been
transformed. What were once considered normal human events and common human
problems -- birth, aging, menopause, alcoholism, and obesity -- are now viewed
as medical conditions. For better or worse, medicine increasingly permeates
aspects of daily life.

Building on more than three decades of research, Peter Conrad explores the
changing forces behind this trend with case studies of short stature, social
anxiety, "male menopause," erectile dysfunction, adult ADHD, and sexual
orientation. He examines the emergence of and changes in medicalization,
the consequences of the expanding medical domain, and the implications for
health and society. He finds in recent developments -- such as the growing
number of possible diagnoses and biomedical enhancements -- the future
direction of medicalization.

Conrad contends that the impact of medical professionals on medicalization
has diminished. Instead, the pharmaceutical and biotechnical industries,
insurance companies and HMOs, and the patient as consumer have become the
major forces promoting medicalization. This thought-provoking study offers
valuable insight into not only how medicalization got to this point but also
how it may continue to evolve.

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