What Is Medical?
Medical is a field of study and practice that aims to promote health, prevent disease and cure illness. The science of medicine includes both basic and applied research, with the former addressing issues such as the development of new medicines and procedures and the latter concerning clinical trials and patient care. The history of medicine spans prehistoric times to the present, and has often had close links with philosophy, religion and culture. It has remained for much of its history a mixture of art (a field requiring creativity and skill) and science.
Medical sciences include biomedical and health sciences, medical physics, pharmacology, microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience and toxicology. Biological sciences cover topics such as anatomy, cell biology, physiology and genetics, while the medical physics discipline applies knowledge of physics to areas such as radiation protection and diagnostic imaging. Pharmacology addresses the actions of drugs, while toxicology studies the causes and effects of drug toxicity.
Medicine is an integral part of most societies. Many developed countries have universal health care systems that provide free or low-cost medical services to their citizens. Other countries provide care through private insurance schemes, which can be either individual or collective. The most important function of medicine is to restore and maintain human health. However, it also serves a number of other valued functions such as determining the status of an individual’s health, prognosis and classification of diseases, preventing suffering and providing emotional support for the sick.
Throughout the ages, there have been numerous attempts to systematise medical knowledge and practice. Hippocrates, considered the father of modern medicine, promoted a rational approach to sickness and proposed the Hippocratic Oath for physicians. Physicians like Galen and Vesalius contributed to the growing body of scientific knowledge and refined or disproved theories from the past.
Modern medical scientists are constantly searching for better ways to detect, diagnose and treat disease. They start with basic research in laboratories, such as using computer models to simulate tumour growth or testing the effectiveness of a new antibiotic. Then they move to clinical trials, in which participants are randomly allocated to treatment or control groups, and the outcomes are measured.
Other medical fields are conservation medicine, which considers the impact on humans and non-human animals; disaster medicine; forensic medicine, which examines crime scenes to determine cause of death, type of weapon used and other physical evidence; and evolutionary medicine, which looks at gender differences in the incidence of disease. Many of these disciplines require specialised training and skills that can take decades to acquire. They all contribute to improving the quality of life for the world’s population. The medical field continues to be one of the most fascinating and rewarding areas of human endeavour.
Medical is a field of study and practice that aims to promote health, prevent disease and cure illness. The science of medicine includes both basic and applied research, with the former addressing issues such as the development of new medicines and procedures and the latter concerning clinical trials and patient care. The history of medicine spans prehistoric times to the present, and has often had close links with philosophy, religion and culture. It has remained for much of its history a mixture of art (a field requiring creativity and skill) and science. Medical sciences include biomedical and health sciences, medical physics, pharmacology, microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience and toxicology. Biological sciences cover topics such as anatomy, cell biology, physiology and genetics, while the medical physics discipline applies knowledge of physics to areas such as radiation protection and diagnostic imaging. Pharmacology addresses the actions of drugs, while toxicology studies the causes and effects of drug toxicity. Medicine is an integral part of most societies. Many developed countries have universal health care systems that provide free or low-cost medical services to their citizens. Other countries provide care through private insurance schemes, which can be either individual or collective. The most important function of medicine is to restore and maintain human health. However, it also serves a number of other valued functions such as determining the status of an individual’s health, prognosis and classification of diseases, preventing suffering and providing emotional support for the sick. Throughout the ages, there have been numerous attempts to systematise medical knowledge and practice. Hippocrates, considered the father of modern medicine, promoted a rational approach to sickness and proposed the Hippocratic Oath for physicians. Physicians like Galen and Vesalius contributed to the growing body of scientific knowledge and refined or disproved theories from the past. Modern medical scientists are constantly searching for better ways to detect, diagnose and treat disease. They start with basic research in laboratories, such as using computer models to simulate tumour growth or testing the effectiveness of a new antibiotic. Then they move to clinical trials, in which participants are randomly allocated to treatment or control groups, and the outcomes are measured. Other medical fields are conservation medicine, which considers the impact on humans and non-human animals; disaster medicine; forensic medicine, which examines crime scenes to determine cause of death, type of weapon used and other physical evidence; and evolutionary medicine, which looks at gender differences in the incidence of disease. Many of these disciplines require specialised training and skills that can take decades to acquire. They all contribute to improving the quality of life for the world’s population. The medical field continues to be one of the most fascinating and rewarding areas of human endeavour.