ADOLESCENCE AND OLD AGE, PART II: MEDICALIZATION AND MEDICAL SPECIALISTS

Abstract

In this second of a two‐part series of articles, we describe adolescence and old age as medicalized, culture‐bound syndromes in the American health care delivery system. Each of these pathological age groupings is characterized by its own distinctive, but surprisingly overlapping, diagnostic mix, medical specialists, and professional evolutionary milestones during the past half century.