What Is Medical?
Medical is the science and practice of diagnosing, curing, or alleviating human illness and injury. It is a combination of art (the application of skill and knowledge) and science (the study of the principles and laws that underlie natural phenomena). Historically, medicine was also an area of philosophy and religion, with many practices having roots in ancient cultures’ beliefs about the causes of disease.
Modern medicine is based on scientific research, and has a wide range of subfields. Some examples are:
Physiology (the study of body function), pathology (the study of disease), and pharmacology (the study of drug action and side-effects). Molecular biology, genetics, and evolutionary studies have become increasingly significant to medicine, as they have transformed other areas of science.
In a medical encounter, the doctor is expected to properly inform and educate the patient about the nature of the problem, its prognosis, treatment options, and risks. The doctor must communicate this information clearly and concisely, using plain language. Doctors must be careful not to use metaphors, euphemisms, or other rhetorical flourishes that may confuse the patient or convey bias or partisanship.
The doctor must perform a thorough history and physical examination of the patient, to gather the appropriate data for diagnosis. Depending on the patient’s situation, this may involve taking a detailed family history or psychosocial history, or it may include psychological testing, a neurological examination, or laboratory tests. The doctor must then formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan.
If a patient is incapacitated and has not made an advance directive, the state law determines who can make health care decisions for them. This is typically a spouse or parents if available, children if adult, and in some cases close friends.
The medical lexicon has numerous specialized terms and acronyms, often with overlapping meanings. Often, these are simply shorthand for longer phrases to speed communication in the physician-patient relationship; other times, they may refer to specific parts of the anatomy or a particular medical procedure. Many of these are copyrighted, and should be used sparingly to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. In general, medical articles should be written for a non-specialist readership and should avoid using jargon and technical terms unless they are absolutely necessary. In addition, article titles should be meaningful and brief, and infoboxes should be used sparingly. The articles should also comply with Wikipedia’s style guidelines, especially those regarding citations and avoiding plagiarism. In addition, all links must meet Wikipedia’s external links policies.
Medical is the science and practice of diagnosing, curing, or alleviating human illness and injury. It is a combination of art (the application of skill and knowledge) and science (the study of the principles and laws that underlie natural phenomena). Historically, medicine was also an area of philosophy and religion, with many practices having roots in ancient cultures’ beliefs about the causes of disease. Modern medicine is based on scientific research, and has a wide range of subfields. Some examples are: Physiology (the study of body function), pathology (the study of disease), and pharmacology (the study of drug action and side-effects). Molecular biology, genetics, and evolutionary studies have become increasingly significant to medicine, as they have transformed other areas of science. In a medical encounter, the doctor is expected to properly inform and educate the patient about the nature of the problem, its prognosis, treatment options, and risks. The doctor must communicate this information clearly and concisely, using plain language. Doctors must be careful not to use metaphors, euphemisms, or other rhetorical flourishes that may confuse the patient or convey bias or partisanship. The doctor must perform a thorough history and physical examination of the patient, to gather the appropriate data for diagnosis. Depending on the patient’s situation, this may involve taking a detailed family history or psychosocial history, or it may include psychological testing, a neurological examination, or laboratory tests. The doctor must then formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan. If a patient is incapacitated and has not made an advance directive, the state law determines who can make health care decisions for them. This is typically a spouse or parents if available, children if adult, and in some cases close friends. The medical lexicon has numerous specialized terms and acronyms, often with overlapping meanings. Often, these are simply shorthand for longer phrases to speed communication in the physician-patient relationship; other times, they may refer to specific parts of the anatomy or a particular medical procedure. Many of these are copyrighted, and should be used sparingly to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. In general, medical articles should be written for a non-specialist readership and should avoid using jargon and technical terms unless they are absolutely necessary. In addition, article titles should be meaningful and brief, and infoboxes should be used sparingly. The articles should also comply with Wikipedia’s style guidelines, especially those regarding citations and avoiding plagiarism. In addition, all links must meet Wikipedia’s external links policies.