Evolutionary medicine

Evolutionary medicine studies health and disease using knowledge from evolutionary biology. While clinical medicine focuses on the proximate explanations of disease, or the immediate pathways leading to pathological processes, evolutionary medicine explains their ultimate causes, or why pathways leading to disease developed in the course of human evolution.

A companion to Principles of evolutionary medicine

The purpose of this website is to assist educators and students using Principles of evolutionary medicine (2009), an Oxford University Press textbook by Peter Gluckman, Mark Hanson and Alan Beedle.

The section 'Book' outlines the structure and the content of the book. In 'Resources' you will find additional reference materials.

We regularly review new research on evolutionary medicine. Suggestions for new additions and comments on the content of the website and the book are welcome and should be directed to evomed@auckland.ac.nz.