title: The place of "the tropics' in Western medical ideas since 1750.
abstract: The idea of "the tropics' as a region distinct from the "temperate' world has a long history and derives from European expansion and environmental theories especially from about 1750 onwards. Although the tropics were ascribed some positive attributes, the dominant concept was a negative one and the idea of distinctive tropical disease and the corresponding need for a separate specialty of tropical medicine largely grew out of this.
authors.affiliation: Department of History, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arnold
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D018595:Colonialism; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014330:Tropical Medicine / Q000266:history*