Medicalization is a powerful social, cultural, economic and clinical force that has been studied in many contexts around the world. This paper focuses upon medicalization in Arab/Middle Eastern culture, looking specifically at the increased application of biomedical thinking and medical care within Arab nations. Two examples of medicalization are discussed. The first is consanguineous marriage, which is widely practised in Arab societies. It serves to illustrate how marriage systems and reproductive choices can change when information concerning the risk of birth defects is introduced. The second example is infantile diarrhoea, a major cause of infant mortality in developing countries. It shows that popular methods of healing may be called into question with the introduction of newer medical knowledge and progressive standards of medical practice. These two examples indicate how medicalization can change personal identities and call into question traditional values concerning marriage, reproduction and healing. Also discussed are modernization and the concept of health care as a vehicle for social justice. The WHO’s 1978 ‘Health for All’ initiative is also explored in the context of health disparities and health as a human right.‬