Part I reviews the complete medical histories of women who sought assistance with injury from an urban emergency service. Using an index of suspicion, the study determined how many women are at risk for abuse in the emergency population and compared this to the number actually recognized as such. The remarkable number of injuries attributable to domestic violence and the distinctive pattern of medical and psychosocial problems that accompany the adult trauma history reflect the diminishing options available to women entrapped in battering relationships. Part II reviews women's medical charts archaeologically, as social products that can show how medical culture depicts the universe. This examination reveals how the medical system's need to manage a persistent patient population fosters an implicit alliance with violent men. Part III critically reviews current theoretical perspectives on battering and proposes an alternative conceptualization. The concluding sections analyze the contribution of the helping services to woman battering in terms of their historical role in mediating larger conflicts between a capitalist economy, which seeks to level all invidious distinctions, and the patriarchy, which seeks to maintain sexual hierarchy. In contrast to current thinking, the authors argue that the emergence of woman battering as a major expression of male control signals the nadir rather than zenith of male power. 3 tables