Medical – The Area of Health Care
Medical is the area of health care concerned with diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of disease, injury, and other bodily malfunction. Medical science consists of a broad range of disciplines including biology (the study of living things), chemistry, physics and mathematica. Medical practitioners use their knowledge of the scientific basis of medicine together with clinical skills acquired through practical training to heal patients and improve their quality of life.
In its earliest forms, medicine was an art (an area of creative skill and application based on beliefs, superstitions or faith), with connections to religious and philosophical belief systems (such as the ancient practice of bloodletting). Modern medicine is a combination of both art and science. For example, the skill in stitching a wound requires art, but the understanding of what is taking place at the cellular and molecular level arises from science.
The basic sciences include anatomy (the study of the physical structure of organisms), cytology (the study of cells), embryology (the study of early development) and endocrinology (the study of hormones). Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, while physiology is the study of how organs function normally.
Pathology is the study of disease – its causes, course, progression and resolution. Pharmacology is the study of drugs, and radiation physics includes photobiology (the interaction between non-ionizing and ionizing radiation with living tissue) and radiobiology (the interactions between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation with living tissue).
Epidemiology is the study of disease in populations, and biostatistics is the application of statistics to biological fields. Medical ethics are the principles of morality and judgment applied to medical practice. Medical education is the process of preparing and training medical professionals, including doctors and nurses.
Modern tertiary care hospitals are equipped with facilities for the investigation and treatment of complex and serious diseases, and the delivery of medical services is increasingly dependent on information technology based on computerised data recording and analysis. Many highly trained health care professionals besides doctors are involved in the delivery of modern medical services, such as nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, dietitians, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists, medical physicists, biomedical engineers and radiographers.
Most medical specialities fit into one of two broad categories: “Medicine” or “Surgery”. Medicine subspecialties typically require preliminary training in Internal Medicine and successful completion of the Membership Examination of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP in England). Surgery subspecialties generally require an additional qualification from a surgical board. Exceptions include gynecology, which is a medical specialty in its own right, and toxicology, which does not. Other specialist areas of medicine include conservation medicine, which is concerned with the relationship between human and non-human animal health and environmental conditions; forensic medicine, which investigates questions of criminal law; and diving medicine, which examines medical problems related to scuba diving. Each of these has its own professional body or college.
Medical is the area of health care concerned with diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of disease, injury, and other bodily malfunction. Medical science consists of a broad range of disciplines including biology (the study of living things), chemistry, physics and mathematica. Medical practitioners use their knowledge of the scientific basis of medicine together with clinical skills acquired through practical training to heal patients and improve their quality of life. In its earliest forms, medicine was an art (an area of creative skill and application based on beliefs, superstitions or faith), with connections to religious and philosophical belief systems (such as the ancient practice of bloodletting). Modern medicine is a combination of both art and science. For example, the skill in stitching a wound requires art, but the understanding of what is taking place at the cellular and molecular level arises from science. The basic sciences include anatomy (the study of the physical structure of organisms), cytology (the study of cells), embryology (the study of early development) and endocrinology (the study of hormones). Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, while physiology is the study of how organs function normally. Pathology is the study of disease – its causes, course, progression and resolution. Pharmacology is the study of drugs, and radiation physics includes photobiology (the interaction between non-ionizing and ionizing radiation with living tissue) and radiobiology (the interactions between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation with living tissue). Epidemiology is the study of disease in populations, and biostatistics is the application of statistics to biological fields. Medical ethics are the principles of morality and judgment applied to medical practice. Medical education is the process of preparing and training medical professionals, including doctors and nurses. Modern tertiary care hospitals are equipped with facilities for the investigation and treatment of complex and serious diseases, and the delivery of medical services is increasingly dependent on information technology based on computerised data recording and analysis. Many highly trained health care professionals besides doctors are involved in the delivery of modern medical services, such as nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, dietitians, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists, medical physicists, biomedical engineers and radiographers. Most medical specialities fit into one of two broad categories: “Medicine” or “Surgery”. Medicine subspecialties typically require preliminary training in Internal Medicine and successful completion of the Membership Examination of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP in England). Surgery subspecialties generally require an additional qualification from a surgical board. Exceptions include gynecology, which is a medical specialty in its own right, and toxicology, which does not. Other specialist areas of medicine include conservation medicine, which is concerned with the relationship between human and non-human animal health and environmental conditions; forensic medicine, which investigates questions of criminal law; and diving medicine, which examines medical problems related to scuba diving. Each of these has its own professional body or college.