 
L. LEWIS WALL Professor, Sociocultural Anthropology and Dept. of Ob-Gyn, Medical School D.Phil., Oxford University, 1983; M.D., University of Kansas, 1983 314-935-5252 walll@wustl.edu Home Page at Medical School |
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L. LEWIS WALL Professor, Sociocultural Anthropology and Dept. of Ob-Gyn, Medical School D.Phil., Oxford University, 1983; M.D., University of Kansas, 1983 314-935-5252 walll@wustl.edu Home Page at Medical School |
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My research interests focus on clinical, social, and ethical aspects of women's health from both contemporary as well as historical perspectives. I am particularly interested in the social and clinical problems associated with maternal birth trauma in developing countries, and I have been involved in a variety of clinical projects in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Ghana. At present I am working on the development of a related project dealing with the care of women who have sustained vesico-vaginal fistulas from prolonged labor in Sierra Leone.
My clinical work at the medical school involves the evaluation and treatment of women with various forms of pelvic floor dysfunction, most notably the interrelated problems of urinary/fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. I maintain a busy practice in reconstructive gynecological surgery, and I am actively involved in teaching both residents and medical students. I also serve on the Barnes-Jewish Hospital ethics committee.
For more information see the overview of the department's research in sociocultural anthropology.
Anthropologic Perspectives on the Fetus, Anthropology of Human Birth, Culture and Women's Health
2004 (with D. Brown) Ethical issues arising from the performance of pelvic exams by medical students on anesthetized patients. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 190:319-323.
2004 (with JA Karshima, C Kirshner and SD Arrowsmith) The obstetric vesicovaginal fistula: Characteristics of 899 patients from Jos, Nigeria. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 190:1011-1119.
2002 (with D. Brown) Pharmaceutical sales representatives and the doctor/patient relationship. Obstetrics and Gynecology 100:594-9.
2002 Fitsari 'Dan Duniya': An African (Hausa) praise-song about vesico-vaginal fistulas. Obstetrics and Gynecology 100:1328-1332.
1998 Dead mothers and injured wives: The social context of maternal morbidity and mortality among the Hausa of northern Nigeria. Studies in Family Planning 29(4):341-359.
1996 (with S.D. Arrowsmith and E.C. Hamlin) "Obstructed labor injury complex:" Obstetric fistula formation and the multifaceted morbidity of maternal birth trauma in the developing world. Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey 51:568- 574.
1996 Ritual meaning in surgery. Obstetrics and Gynecology 88:633-7.
1996 (with K.A. Danso, JO Martey and TE Elkins) The epidemiology of genito-urinary fistulae in Kumasi, Ghana, 1977-1992. International Urogynecology Journal 7:117-120.
1996 The "noble savage" in labor; or, Claude Levi- Strauss has a baby. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 40:33-44.
1988 Hausa Medicine: Illness and Well-being in a West African Culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
1985 The strange case of Mary Toft (who was delivered of sixteen rabbits and a tabby cat in 1726). Medical Heritage 1:199-211.
1976 Anuak politics, ecology, and the origins of Shilluk kingship. Ethnology 15:151-162.
