Basic Medical Knowledge And Specialties

Within medicine, there are a number of specialtiesIntensive care medicine is used with patients who are
and subspecialties one can concentrate in. Before ain immediate need of care or are in a life-threatening
doctor decides on a focus, they must learn the basicsituation. Hepatology is concerned with the liver, and
sciences of medicine. Basic knowledge is essentialnephrology is concerned with the kidneys.
when moving forward in one's studies, which is whyRheumatology involves treating joint problems, such
doctors must attend four years of medical schoolas arthritis.
before advancing to a specialty.In addition to internal medicine specialties, several
There are sixteen topics of introductory medicalsurgical specialties exist. Otolaryngology is surgery
science. Anatomy, a subject often associated withwhich comprises of head, neck, face, and certain
doctors, is the study of the physical structures ofcosmetic procedures. Surgical oncology is the use of
humans. Histology is similar to anatomy, except withsurgery to combat cancer.
tissue instead of larger parts. Biochemistry andVascular surgery involves peripheral blood vessels and
biostatistics are the applications of chemistry andthe central nervous system, and cardiovascular
statistics in a biological sense.surgery includes the heart and surrounding arteries.
The study of individual cells is cytology, and geneticsTransplantation is an important specialty, in which
is studying the genes within cells. The nervousdysfunctional organs are replaced with optimal ones.
system has its own field called neuroscience, whichBesides the two main categories of internal medicine
comprises knowledge of the brain and spinal cord.and surgery, a third class called diagnostic specialties
Pharmacology and toxicology are both studies ofexist. This type concerns itself not with curing
drugs, except pharmacology focuses on the benefitsdiseases, but examining them. All laboratory sciences
of them while toxicology is about negative effects.fall under diagnostic specialties. Cellular pathology is
Other basic sciences include embryology,the study of diagnosing illnesses by utilizing samples
epidemiology, immunology, microbiology, nutrition,of tissue or cells taken from patients.
pathology, and physiology. General physicians need toClinical microbiology involves in vitro diagnosis of
have a background in all of these fields so they candiseases cause by fungi, viruses, parasites, and
appropriately refer patients to specialists.bacteria. Radiology is a widely known diagnostic
Two broad categories exist in medicine; internalspecialty, which uses imaging technologies to
medicine and surgery. Internal medicine involvesdiagnose and treat ailments.
non-operative treatment of diseases and disordersNeurological disorders, which are not completely
through drugs and therapy. Surgery requiresphysical, require a different treatment approach than
operative action, and is usually used in conjunctiontraditional diseases. Rehabilitation falls under neurology,
with some kind of internal medicine. Specialties branchas it is concerned with physical and mental healing
out from both categories, while some are completelyafter an injury or illness. Any disorder that involves
unrelated to either, such as radiology.the nervous system is neurological.
Cardiology is a specialty within internal medicine inTherefore, all degenerative brain diseases, like
which physicians concentrate on disorders related toAlzheimer's, are dealt with in neurology. Neurologists
the cardiovascular system. Subspecialties ofcan specialize in specific conditions, like stroke or
cardiology focus on specific diseases, like coronarysleep problems, after they have completed general
artery disease. In fact, most subspecialties of largerneurology training.
topics are dedicated to one disease.