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3 Medical sciences and health professions
The delivery of modern health care depends, not just on medical practitioners, but on an expanding group of highly trained professionals coming together as an interdisciplinary team. A full list is given on the health profession page. Some examples include: nurses, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and bioengineers.
The scope and sciences underpinning human medicine overlap many other fields. Dentistry and psychology, while separate disciplines from medicine, are sometimes also considered medical fields. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives treat patients and prescribe medication in many legal jurisdictions. Veterinary medicine applies similar techniques to the care of animals.
Medical doctors have many specializations and subspecializations which are listed below. Within the profession, the differences between medical specialties are a frequent source of humor. There is an adage that goes, "The internist knows everything and does nothing, the surgeon knows nothing and does everything, and the pathologist knows everything and does everything, but it's too late."
3.1 Basic, supplementary, and related sciences
- Anatomy is the study of the physical structure of organisms. In contrast to macroscopic or gross anatomy, cytology and histology are concerned with microscopic structures.
- Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry taking place in living organisms, especially the structure and function of their chemical components.
- Bioethics is a field of study which concerns the relationship between biology, science, medicine and ethics, philosophy and theology.
- Biostatistics is the application of statistics to biological fields in the broadest sense. A knowledge of biostatistics is essential in the planning, evaluation, and interpretation of medical research. It is also fundamental to epidemiology and evidence-based medicine.
- Cytology is the microscopic study of individual cells.
- Embryology is the study of the early development of organisms.
- Epidemiology is the study of the demographics of disease processes, and includes, but is not limited to, the study of epidemics.
- Genetics is the study of genes, and their role in biological inheritance.
- Histology is the study of the structures of biological tissues by light microscopy, electron microscopy and histochemistry.
- Immunology is the study of the immune system, which includes the innate and adaptive immune system in human, for example.
- Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
- Neuroscience is a comprehensive term for those disciplines of science that are related to the study of the nervous system. A main focus of neuroscience is the biology and physiology of the human brain.
- Nutrition is the study of the relationship of food and drink to health and disease, especially in determining an optimal diet. Medical nutrition therapy is done by dietitians and is prescribed for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, weight and eating disorders, allergies, malnutrition and neoplastic diseases.
- Pathology is the study of disease - the causes, course, progression and resolution thereof.
- Pharmacology is the study of drugs and their actions.
- Physiology is the study of the normal functioning of the body and the underlying regulatory mechanisms.
- Toxicology is the study of hazardous effects of drugs and poisons.
