Ian Harper is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

"This is an excellent study "from the ground up," with the author's twin disciplinary training resulting in a balanced appraisal of his subject, neither too theoretical nor too scientific, and one alive to the ambiguities of both medical and anthropological approaches." A. C. McKay, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden

• 1. Introduction 2. Palpa and Its Healing Traditions 3. The view from the clinic 4. "Caught in the middle": Power, efficacy and healing 5. "It’s the Sweet Smell of Gold" – A Particular History of the Mission Hospital 6. Introducing Psychiatric Services 7. Capsular Promise as Public Health and the Vitamin A Programme 8. Creating Order from Treatment Chaos: Implementing Protocols and the Control of Tuberculosis

Ian Harper is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

"This is an excellent study "from the ground up," with the author's twin disciplinary training resulting in a balanced appraisal of his subject, neither too theoretical nor too scientific, and one alive to the ambiguities of both medical and anthropological approaches." A. C. McKay, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden

• 1. Introduction 2. Palpa and Its Healing Traditions 3. The view from the clinic 4. "Caught in the middle": Power, efficacy and healing 5. "It’s the Sweet Smell of Gold" – A Particular History of the Mission Hospital 6. Introducing Psychiatric Services 7. Capsular Promise as Public Health and the Vitamin A Programme 8. Creating Order from Treatment Chaos: Implementing Protocols and the Control of Tuberculosis