Social construction represents a major theme in sociology and has major implications for how we understand health, illness and healing. Drawing on classic and contemporary scholarship, this chapter examines how cultural meanings, power dynamics, and institutional arrangements shape our understanding of and responses to biological phenomena. The chapter outlines four key areas of sociological contribution: (1) the cultural meanings of illness; (2) the distinction between the normal and the abnormal; (3) community-embedded illness responses; and (4) the social construction of medical knowledge. Through these domains, it illustrates how lay and professional interpretations of illness are influenced by broader cultural systems, historical trajectories, and political interests. The chapter highlights the strength of the social constructionist perspective in challenging biomedical essentialism and its growing relevance in light of complex disease profiles, pharmaceutical influence, and health inequalities. Finally, it emphasizes the value of cross-national comparisons in demonstrating how different societies construct health realities and suggests a future path that integrates social construction with interdisciplinary insights to more effectively address individual and population health.