The place of "the tropics' in Western medical ideas since 1750

Abstract

The idea of "the tropics' as a region distinct from the "temperate' world has a long history and derives from European expansion and environmental theories especially from about 1750 onwards. Although the tropics were ascribed some positive attributes, the dominant concept was a negative one and the idea of distinctive tropical disease and the corresponding need for a separate specialty of tropical medicine largely grew out of this.