Lerner Barron H
Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Columbia University.
Can Bull Med Hist. 2003;20(2):299-321. doi: 10.3138/cbmh.20.2.299.
Mammography represents an interesting chapter in the history of American medical technology. Throughout much of the 20th century, physicians showed little interesting in using x-rays to help diagnose breast cancer. But beginning in the 1960s, with the growing interest in early detection, the professionalization of radiology and cancer activism, and the increasing allure of visual imagery in medicine, screening mammograms became the centerpiece of efforts to lower mortality from breast cancer. Despite its popularity, however, mammography remains highly controversial as physicians, statisticians and the public have continued to debate its actual clinical value. Mammography well exemplifies how cultural, ideological and political factors influence both the dissemination and evaluation of medical technologies.
乳房X光检查在美国医学技术史上是饶有趣味的一章。在20世纪的大部分时间里，医生对使用X光来帮助诊断乳腺癌兴趣寥寥。但从20世纪60年代开始，随着对早期检测的兴趣日益浓厚、放射学专业化和癌症维权运动的兴起，以及医学中视觉影像的吸引力不断增加，乳房X光筛查成为降低乳腺癌死亡率努力的核心。然而，尽管乳房X光检查很受欢迎，但它仍然极具争议，因为医生、统计学家和公众一直在争论其实际临床价值。乳房X光检查很好地例证了文化、意识形态和政治因素如何影响医疗技术的传播和评估。
