The Influence of Tropical Climates on European Constitutions was an important nineteenth-century study into the climate of India and how European colonisers could adapt to it. It was first written by the Irish surgeon James Johnson in 1812 and was based upon Johnson’s own experiences in India. The work was notable for its recommendations that Europeans in India adopt aspects of Indian culture, such as dress and diet, in order to cope better to the heat.

This seventh edition was edited by Sir James Ranald Martin, a Scottish surgeon who had spent much of his medical career accompanying the British forces in Bengal. Martin suffered several times from fevers while working with the army and treated outbreaks of tropical diseases in camps, giving him an intimate knowledge their nature, effects and remedy. In contrast to Johnson's receptive approach, Martin was critical of Indian medicine and believed that European medicines were essential to treating tropical disease.