The most common and deadly conditions challenging physicians and patients today are neither uniquely human, nor are they unique to our modern times. We humans do, undoubtedly, amplify the risks of many cancers, cardiovascular and other diseases through our lifestyles and environments. However, long before the first Homo sapien appeared on Earth the vulnerability to diseases ranging from heart disease and cancer to renal, hepatic, hematological and congenital disorders existed in ancient animals. A consideration of the phylogeny of disease exposes an expanded perspective on the disorders seen in the contemporary clinical setting. Furthermore, it suggests novel insights into the nature and origin of disease processes themselves. This talk offers a draft version of a phylogeny of disease based on scaled levels of evidence connecting the natural history of specific pathologies to theirpresentation, treatment, and outcomes in modern man.
"Zoobiquity and evolutionary medicine"
Barbara Natterson - Horowitz, M.D
Division of Cardiology
University of California, Los Angeles
