Alexandra Howson opens this series of essays by introducing the term “medicalization.” She defines it as “a concept that captures the processes through which medicine and medical culture categorize physical, emotional, and social phenomena as normal or not-normal.” Her essay also highlights how medicine and science confront a variety of social and cultural forces and therefore provide sociologists with many opportunities for research and study. The complexity of interconnected fields is emphasized in Karen M. Harbeck’s essay on the legal and ethical issues of life and death. The topic of assisted suicide, for example, continues to cause controversy, as this subject challenges the very basics of how society understands the role of medicine. The following essay turns more broadly to today’s leading public health threats, which encompass everything from second-hand smoke to the threat of bioterrorism.