Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I: Concepts of health and disease in public health / Introduction: Constance Battle -- Essay: the origins and achievements of modern science / Richard Schlagel -- Essay: biochemistry: a foundation for health sciences / Mark S. Elliott -- Genetics and public health / Joseph D. McInerney -- The public health triad / Brian Szekely -- Epidemiological and public health perspectives on aging in America / Daniel Foley -- Drug-induced diseases and safe medication use / Michelle Kalis and Judy Cheng -- Disease versus disease: how some diseases ameliorate others / E. Richard Stiehm -- Behavioral determinants of health / Frances F. Fiocchi -- Part II: Using public health to address behavioral change / Introduction: Constance Battle -- Understanding nutrition for the public's health / Elizabeth Tedrow and Jennifer A. Weber -- The nutrition transition: changes in eating patterns and the relationship to chronic illness / Mellen Duffy Tanamly -- Exercise: the vaccine and antidote for obesity / Wayne C. Miller -- Fetal alcohol syndrome: a lifespan perspective / Harolyn M. E. Belcher and Sabrina J. Roundtree -- Smoking, nicotine, and addiction: tobacco or health? / Vincent A. Chiappinelli -- Pathophysiology of injury: why gravity is your enemy / Mary Pat McKay -- Oral health: the neglected epidemic in public health / Michael A. Tabacco and Tareq A. Yousef -- Part III: Concepts of pathophysiology / Introduction: Constance Battle -- Immunizations and immunity / Carol A. Smith -- Inflammation: understanding its role in acute and chronic disease / Patricia S. Latham -- Why we stay well: stress, allostasis, and scientific integrative medicine / David S. Goldstein -- Cancer prevention from a biologist's perspective / Jackie A. Lavigne and Stephen D. Hursting -- Colon cancer: a common, and yet preventable, cancer / James F. Cawley -- Part IV: The public health burden of infectious disease / Introduction: Constance Battle -- Soil-transmitted helminths: worms are the most common pathogens of mankind / Ami Shah Brown, Sophia Raff, and Peter Hotez -- Malaria: the challenge of scaling-up multiple effective tools / Larwrence Barat -- Tuberculosis: the deadly comeback of an old infectious disease / Yanis Ben Amor -- Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS): history and time line / Victoria A. Harden -- HIV: Biology, transmission, and natural history in humans / Sylvia Silver -- Afterword: the HIV/AIDS epidemic / Veronica Miller -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): a deadly superbug / Tenagne W. Haile-Mariam -- Meningococcal meningitis: it strikes without warning / Katrina D. Hawkins and David M. Parenti -- Human papillovavirus (HPV) infection and immunization / James F. Cawley and Lawrence J. D'angelo -- Helicobacter infection and peptic ulcer / James F. Cawley -- Avian and seasonal influenza / John M. P. Cmar and Gary L. Simon -- Bioterrorism: medical and public health implications / Christina L. Catlett and Christopher Scott -- Part V: The public health burden of chronic disease / Introduction: Constance Battle -- Hypertension and the kidney / Randall Packer, Richard Billingsley, and Daniel Webb -- Epidemiology of atherosclerosis / Cynthia M. Tracy and Richard V. Milani -- Stroke: a guide for prevention for patients and families / Ronald Riechers and Geoffrey S. F. Ling -- Diabetes: a public health pandemic / Mary Beth Bigley -- Chronic kidney disease: the new epidemic / Sudhindra Pudur and Paul L. Kimmel -- Achieving asthma control / Matthew Mintz -- Arthritis: the nation's most common cause of disability / Patience H. White -- Osteoporosis: a significant cause of disability and mortality / Karen Kemmis and Dale Avers -- Alzheimer's disease: a slow death / Christopher J. Battle and Raluca Popovici -- Perinatal depression: a worldwide problem in women's health / Julia Frank -- The science of sleep / Michele N. Wagner and Daniel Webb -- Part VI: Skills and tools of public health / Introduction: Constance Battle -- Information-seeking strategies in public health / Cynthia Kahn and Elaine Sullo -- Communicating public health information / Pamela Z. Poe