Introduction

Far from being mere interpretations of bodily symptoms, the ideas of disease, illness, and pathology are often symbolically or metaphorically constructed and always rooted in specific contexts and times. Hence, investigating their representations necessarily entails moving beyond physician-patient dynamics to cope with broader cultural and social concerns. Linguistic, literary, and cultural studies themselves can engage with medical representations to reveal their function in their historical context, to emphasise their constitutive relation to identity and language, and to unveil their inherent connection with conceptualisations of a “healthy” body and mind, thus challenging stigmas associated with various forms of disease, illness, disability, and trauma.