摘要：The general profile of contemporary (western) medical sociology is derived from a crossnational study on: (1) in-depth sociohistorical analyses and evaluations of the development of the discipline in the USA and Europe; (2) a survey of the theoretical background (that is, of the root of medical and social sciences of medical sociology); and (3) exploration of the »boundaries« between medical sociology and other public health subdisciplines such as social epidemiology, medical anthropology and social medicine. Besides illustrating the common features, the origin and development of medical sociology, a number of distinctive characteristics of the discipline are highlighted: the main authors/sociologists, the basic concepts, the subject-matters, some elements of institutionalistion, the process of professionalisation and the like. The last chapter of the paper is devoted to a brief review of Yugoslav medical sociology. The authors argue that the discipline in this country is still in its infancy, and therefore it is not predominantly creative and productive but descriptive and receptive.
