[Tuberculosis among Jews and blacks in the US: the medical-anthropological debate on racial differences in predisposition to a disease, 1850-1920].
This article analyses historic models of the susceptibility to tuberculosis among American Jews and African Americans. Both medical and anthropological accounts from the period studied (1850-1920) reflect a very low TB rate among Jews, while attributing a very high disease rate to African Americans. Explanations for this difference between the two ethnic groups varied over the passing decades, reflecting changing conceptions of the 'anthropological nature' of Jews and African Americans. This article attempts to show the extent to which the medical and anthropological disciplines were interconnected and mutually influential. Firstly, Jews and African Americans were considered to be 'other' because they exhibited specific nosological behaviour. In addition, white Gentile doctors attributed different disease susceptibilities to these groups because they appeared to constitute a 'peculiar type'.
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D001741:Black or African American / Q000266:history*; D000883:Anthropology / Q000266:history*; D015984:Causality; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007585:Jews / Q000266:history*; D008511:Medicine; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000266:history*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States