Medical – The Branch of Science and Knowledge devoted to the Maintenance of Human Health
Medical is the branch of science and knowledge devoted to the maintenance of human health by the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. It is a multidisciplinary field that includes research in biology (e.g. in cellular systems and animal models), chemistry, physics and pharmacology, together with the application of these disciplines to medicine. Medicine is also concerned with the history of medicine, its foundations in philosophy and religion, and the cultural context of healing.
Modern medicine is practised by specialist physicians and a wide range of other highly-trained health care professionals. These include nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dietitians, biomedical engineers and radiographers.
Physicians are trained in “evidence based” or western medicine, which combines ancient Hippocratic principles with scientific research. The latter may involve preclinical research in cellular systems and animal models, or clinical trials on patients. Medical researchers are also often interested in ‘big picture’ issues such as public health, epidemiology and bioethics.
A major shift in medical thinking occurred after the Black Death of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when physicians began to reject the notion that just because an ancient philosopher or physician said something was true meant that it must be so. This led to a gradual rejection of the ‘authority approach’ to medicine, and the development of a’scientific method’ for understanding and treating illness.
The discipline of medical anthropology is concerned with the study of the cultures and societies that produce, use and consume medical knowledge. This field of study has become increasingly important as the world becomes more global and interconnected.
Medicine is a complex mixture of art and science. Its history spans thousands of years, beginning with the application of herbs and prayer for healing, through to modern pharmaceuticals and surgical techniques. It is an art of applied science, with a strong basis in empirical evidence and a deep respect for the human body. It is also a discipline of continuous learning, as new discoveries in biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics inform the practice of medicine.
The scientific disciplines which underpin medical practice include anatomy, cytology, histology and biochemistry. Anatomy deals with the structure of organisms, whereas cytology and histology focus on microscopic structures and biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes occurring in living cells. Medicine also applies the laws of physics and chemistry to biological fields, for example in aeromedicine which examines problems related to flying and space travel, or in toxicology which studies the effects of chemicals on living organisms. The practice of medicine is regulated in most countries by law to ensure that practitioners are competent and ethical. This is designed to protect patients from charlatans who may misuse the medical profession, and to encourage the spread of knowledge. It is a very large and diverse field, with many subfields. Each of these have a unique set of terms that are specific to them. This is reflected in the number of suffixes that appear at the end of medical words: for example, phlebotomy means blood-taking; gastroenterology means the stomach; ophthalmology concerns the eyes; and radiology refers to imaging.
Medical is the branch of science and knowledge devoted to the maintenance of human health by the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. It is a multidisciplinary field that includes research in biology (e.g. in cellular systems and animal models), chemistry, physics and pharmacology, together with the application of these disciplines to medicine. Medicine is also concerned with the history of medicine, its foundations in philosophy and religion, and the cultural context of healing. Modern medicine is practised by specialist physicians and a wide range of other highly-trained health care professionals. These include nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dietitians, biomedical engineers and radiographers. Physicians are trained in “evidence based” or western medicine, which combines ancient Hippocratic principles with scientific research. The latter may involve preclinical research in cellular systems and animal models, or clinical trials on patients. Medical researchers are also often interested in ‘big picture’ issues such as public health, epidemiology and bioethics. A major shift in medical thinking occurred after the Black Death of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when physicians began to reject the notion that just because an ancient philosopher or physician said something was true meant that it must be so. This led to a gradual rejection of the ‘authority approach’ to medicine, and the development of a’scientific method’ for understanding and treating illness. The discipline of medical anthropology is concerned with the study of the cultures and societies that produce, use and consume medical knowledge. This field of study has become increasingly important as the world becomes more global and interconnected. Medicine is a complex mixture of art and science. Its history spans thousands of years, beginning with the application of herbs and prayer for healing, through to modern pharmaceuticals and surgical techniques. It is an art of applied science, with a strong basis in empirical evidence and a deep respect for the human body. It is also a discipline of continuous learning, as new discoveries in biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics inform the practice of medicine. The scientific disciplines which underpin medical practice include anatomy, cytology, histology and biochemistry. Anatomy deals with the structure of organisms, whereas cytology and histology focus on microscopic structures and biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes occurring in living cells. Medicine also applies the laws of physics and chemistry to biological fields, for example in aeromedicine which examines problems related to flying and space travel, or in toxicology which studies the effects of chemicals on living organisms. The practice of medicine is regulated in most countries by law to ensure that practitioners are competent and ethical. This is designed to protect patients from charlatans who may misuse the medical profession, and to encourage the spread of knowledge. It is a very large and diverse field, with many subfields. Each of these have a unique set of terms that are specific to them. This is reflected in the number of suffixes that appear at the end of medical words: for example, phlebotomy means blood-taking; gastroenterology means the stomach; ophthalmology concerns the eyes; and radiology refers to imaging.