Medicine

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This article is about medical science. For substances that treat patients, see drugs, medication and pharmacology.

In the context of the anthropology of religion, see Religious Science Practitioner, Church of Christ Scientist, (Christian Science), and medicine (shamanism) for objects with supernatural power and/or the supernatural power that such items possess.

A note to contributors: This article is about medicine in general. Please consider adding your contributions about medical topics to individual articles rather than this page (many are linked below, and there are more on the List of medical topics), and please think twice before adding more links here - otherwise this article could easily degenerate into an unreadable list of links.

Medicine is an area of human knowledge concerned with restoring health. It is, in the broadest sense of the term, the science and practice of the prevention and curing of human diseases, and other ailments of the human body or mind. However, it is often used only to refer to those matters dealt with by academically trained physicians and surgeons. There are many traditional and modern methods and schools of healing which are usually not considered to be part of medicine in a strict sense (see health science for an overview).

Medicine has two aspects: both as an area of knowledge (a science), and as an application of that knowledge (the medical professions). Evidence-based medicine is an attempt to link these two aspects through the use of the scientific method and techniques derived from safety engineering.

The various specialized branches of the science of medicine correspond to equally specialized medical professions dealing with particular organs or diseases. It may therefore be difficult to distinguish clearly between the science and the profession.

Table of contents

1 History of medicine
2 Medical sciences and medical professions

2.1 Basic, supplementary and related sciences
2.2 Diagnostic and imaging specialties
2.3 Disciplines of clinical medicine

3 Teaching of medicine
4 Legal restrictions
5 Institutions in medicine
6 Related topics
7 See also
8 Entries not yet sorted

History of medicine

History of medicine -- Timeline of medicine and medical technology Museums & Collections of Health & Medicine

Medical sciences and medical professions

Medicine has both its foundational sciences, and specialized branches dealing with particular organs or diseases. The foundational sciences of medicine frequently overlap with other areas of science (such as veterinary science, biology or chemistry).

The primary medical professions are those of physicians and surgeons. Both professions have many specializations and subspecializations (see below). Dentistry and clinical psychology are separate from medicine in a strict sense, but are both medical fields by the wider definition of the term.

There are also many allied health professions (AHPs): nursing, medical laboratory science, pharmacy, physiotherapy (physical therapy), speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, dietetics and bioengineering.

Basic, supplementary and related sciences

Anatomy is the study of the physical structure of organisms. In contrast to macroscopic or gross anatomy, cytology and histology are concerned with microscopic structures.

Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry taking place in living organisms, especially the structure and function of their chemical components.

Bioethics is a field of study which concerns the relationship between biology, science, medicine and ethics, philosophy and theology.

Biostatistics is the application of statistics to biological fields in the broadest sense. A knowledge of biostatistics is essential in the planning, evaluation and interpretation of medical research. It is also fundamental to epidemiology and evidence-based medicine.

Cytology is the microscopic study of individual cells.

Embryology is the study of the early development of organisms.

Epidemiology is the study of the demographics of disease processes, and includes, but is not limited to, the study of epidemics.

Public health

Genetics is the study of genes, and their role in biological inheritance.

Histology is the study of the structures of biological tissues by light microscopy, electron microscopy and histochemistry.

Immunology is the study of the immune system, which includes the innate and adaptive immune system in human, for example.

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

Neuroscience is a comprehensive term for those disciplines of science that are related to the study of the nervous system. A main focus of neuroscience is the biology and physiology of the human brain.

Pathology is the study of disease - the causes, course, progression and resolution thereof.

Anatomical pathology -- Biochemical pathology -- Forensic Pathology

Pharmacology is the study of drugs and their actions.

Physiology is the study of the normal functioning of the body.

Toxicology is the study of hazardous effects of drugs and poisons.

Diagnostic and imaging specialties

Clinical biochemistry

Clinical microbiology is concerned with the in vitro diagnosis of pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and protozoa.

Radiology is concerned with imaging of the human body, e.g. by x-ray, x-ray computed tomography, ultrasonography and nuclear magnetic resonance tomography.

Interventional radiology is concerned with using images (usually from CT or ultrasound machines) to guide the radiologist to do procedures such as biopsies, arteriograms and embolizations.

Nuclear Medicine In nuclear medicine, radioactive substances are used for in vivo and in vitro diagnostics. Another field of nuclear medicine is radiation therapy, i.e. the therapeutic use of radioactive substances as well as other sources of ionizing radiation.

Disciplines of clinical medicine

Anesthesiology is the clinical discipline concerned with providing anesthesia as well as the field of research associated with it.

Dermatology is concerned with the skin and its diseases.

Emergency Medicine is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of acute or life-threatening conditions, including trauma, surgical, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric emergencies.

General practice or family medicine or primary care

Intensive care medicine is concerned with the therapy of patients with serious and life-threatening disease or injury. Intensive care medicine employs invasive diagnostic techniques and (temporary) replacement of organ functions by technical means.

Internal medicine is concerned with diseases of inner organs and systemic dieseases, i.e. such that affect the body as a whole. There are several subdisciplines of internal medicine:

Cardiology is concerned with the heart and cardiovascular system and their diseases.

Gastroenterology is concerned with the organs of digestion.

Endocrinology is concerned with the endocrine system, i.e. endocrine glands and hormones.

Haematology or hematology is concerned with the blood and its diseases.

Infectiology is concerned with the study, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.

Nephrology is concerned with diseases of the kidneys.

Oncology is devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other malignant diseases.

Pulmonology is concerned with diseases of the lungs.

Rheumatology is devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases.

Neurology is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system diseases.

Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) are concerned respectively with childbirth and the female reproductive and associated organs.

Ophthalmology deals with the diseases of the eye and their treatment.

Pediatrics or paediatrics is devoted to the care of infants and children.

Preventive Medicine

Community Health Care -- Occupational Medicine

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders.

Psychotherapy -- Clinical psychology

Surgical specialties

There are many medical disciplines that employ operative treatment. Some of these are highly specialized and are often not considered subdisciplines of surgery, although their naming might suggest so.

General surgery is surgery of the skin and it's contents, though now generally abdominal surgery and miscellaneous other surgical procedures.

Cardiovascular surgery is the surgical specialty that is concerned with the heart and major blood vessels of the chest.

Neurosurgery is concerned with the operative treatment of diseases of the nervous system.

Maxillofacial surgery -- Oral surgery (actually a subspeciality of Dentistry)

Otolaryngology or otorhinolaryngology or ENT (ear-nose-throat) is concerned with treatment of ear, nose and throat disorders.

Orthopedic surgery -- Trauma surgery or Traumatology

Pediatric surgery

Plastic surgery includes aesthetic surgery (operations that are done for other than medical purposes) as well as reconstructive surgery (operations to restore function and/or appearance after traumatic or operative mutilation).

Thoracic surgery is surgery of the chest, usually related to disease of the lungs.

Vascular surgery is surgery of the blood vessels, usually outside of the chest.

Urology focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the male reproductive system.

Transfusion medicine is concerned with the transfusion of blood and blood components.

Teaching of medicine

Medical training is long and grueling, involving several years of university study followed by several more years of residential practice at a hospital. Most medical students spend some time as an intern -- a medical apprenticeship -- supervised by other, more experienced doctors. Entry to a medical degree in some countries (such as the United States) requires the completion of another degree first, while in other countries (such as the United Kingdom) medical training can be commenced as an undergraduate degree immediately after secondary education.

The name of the medical degree gained at the end varies: some countries (e.g. the US) call it 'Doctor of Medicine' (abbreviated 'M.D.'), while others (e.g. Australia, Britain, Pakistan) call it 'Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (Chirurgie)' (a double degree, frequently abbreviated 'M.B.B.S' or 'M.B.B.Ch.'). In either case graduates of a medical degree may call themselves doctor. In many countries, a doctorate of medicine is not a PhD which requires original research, but is like a doctorate in law (J.D.) or theology (Th.D.).

A graduate can then enter general practice and become a general practitioner; or they can specialise in any one of a number of medical fields, and become a specialist; or they can become a surgeon. No matter what they choose, even more training is involved.

Legal restrictions

In most countries, it is prohibited to practice medicine without a proper degree in that field and doctors must be licensed by a medical board or some other equivalent organization. This is meant as a safeguard against charlatans. Occasionally, this has been seen as an obstacle to proponents of alternative medicines or faith healing.

Institutions in medicine

Clinic -- Hospital -- Hospice

Entries not yet sorted

Medical Informatics -- Medical Computer Science -- Pain therapy -- Palliative care -- Reproduction medicine -- Sanitation -- Nosology -- Telemedicine -- eHealth -- Consumer Health Informatics -- Telehealth -- Aerospace Medicine -- Physiatry and Rehabiliation medicine -- Forensic medicine -- Andrology