In reply:  Boundaries of medicine

Van Der Weyden, Martin B

In reply: Russell implies that my recent column on the boundaries of medicine1 conveys the premise that medicine is a defined and discrete discipline underpinned by biomedical science. So it did, but the contention is not mine, it is that of Seldin.2

Correspondence:

1. Van Der Weyden MB. The boundaries of medicine [From the editor's desk]. Med J Aust 2002; 177: 465.<eMJA full text>
2. Seldin DW. Presidential address. Trans Assoc Am Phys 1981; 94: lxxv-lxxxvi.
3. Peabody FW. The care of the patient. JAMA 1927; 88: 877-882.
4. Fitzpatrick M. The tyranny of health. London: Routledge, 2001.
5. Smith R. In search of "non-disease". BMJ 2002; 324: 883-885.

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