Bridges instead of walls - the sociology of medicine as an example of successful (?) interdisciplinary collaboration

The sociology of medicine (more broadly defined as the sociology of health, illness and medicine) is one of the most dynamic, rapidly developing and promising sub-disciplines of general sociology. The aim of this article is to present the interdisciplinary character of the field functioning in a dual frame of reference: general sociology - medicine. Referring to the classic concept of R. Strauss (1957): sociology in/of medicine, the authors consider the issue of potential successful cooperation between representatives of the medical and sociological communities (sociology with medicine). To illustrate the above considerations, the paper presents several issues that are within the research field of the sociology of medicine.