Medicine has been practiced sinceprehistoric times, and for most of this time it was anart (an area of creativity and skill), frequently having connections to thereligious andphilosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, amedicine man would applyherbs and sayprayers for healing, or an ancientphilosopher andphysician would applybloodletting according to the theories ofhumorism. In recent centuries, since theadvent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (bothbasic andapplied, under theumbrella ofmedical science). For example, while stitching technique forsutures is an art learned through practice, knowledge of what happens at thecellular andmolecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.
Prescientific forms of medicine, now known astraditional medicine orfolk medicine, remain commonly used in the absence of scientific medicine and are thus calledalternative medicine. Alternative treatments outside of scientific medicine with ethical, safety and efficacy concerns are termedquackery. (Full article...)
Although Fleming received most of the credit for thediscovery of penicillin, it was Florey and his team at theUniversity of Oxford who made it into a useful and effective drug, ten years after Fleming had abandoned its development. They developed techniques for growing, purifying and manufacturing the drug, tested it for toxicity and efficacy on animals, and carried out the firstclinical trials. In 1941, they used it to treat apolice constable fromOxford. He started to recover, but subsequently died because Florey was unable, at that time, to make enough penicillin. Later trials in Britain, the United States and North Africa were highly successful. (Full article...)
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Diagram showing the position of the pancreas, behind the stomach (which is transparent in this schematic).
The most common,pancreatic adenocarcinoma, accounts for about 90% of cases, and the term "pancreatic cancer" is sometimes used to refer only to that type. Theseadenocarcinomas start within the part of the pancreas that makesdigestive enzymes. Several other types of cancer, which collectively represent the majority of the non-adenocarcinomas, can also arise from these cells. (Full article...)
The disease is believed to occur when there is susceptibility, or a lack ofimmune system resistance, to DPB-causingbacteria orviruses, caused by several genes that are found predominantly in individuals ofEast Asian descent. The highestincidence occurs amongJapanese people, followed byKoreans. DPB occurs more often in males and usually begins around age 40. It was recognized as a distinct new disease in the early 1960s and was formally nameddiffuse panbronchiolitis in 1969. (Full article...)
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The location and development of endometrial cancer
Approximately 40% of cases are related toobesity. Endometrial cancer is also associated with excessiveestrogen exposure,high blood pressure anddiabetes. Whereas taking estrogen alone increases the risk of endometrial cancer, taking both estrogen and aprogestogen in combination, as in mostbirth control pills, decreases the risk. Between two and five percent of cases are related to genes inherited from the parents. Endometrial cancer is sometimes called "uterine cancer", although it is distinct from other forms of cancer of the uterus such ascervical cancer,uterine sarcoma, andtrophoblastic disease. The most frequenttype of endometrial cancer is endometrioidcarcinoma, which accounts for more than 80% of cases. Endometrial cancer is commonly diagnosed byendometrial biopsy or by taking samples during a procedure known asdilation and curettage. Apap smear is not typically sufficient to show endometrial cancer. Regular screening in those at normal risk is not called for. (Full article...)
William Samuel Sadler (June 24, 1875 – April 26, 1969) was an Americansurgeon,self-trainedpsychiatrist, and author who helped publishThe Urantia Book. The book is said to have resulted from Sadler's relationship with a man through whom he believed celestial beings spoke at night. It drew a following of people who studied its teachings.
A native ofIndiana, Sadler moved toMichigan as a teenager to work at theBattle Creek Sanitarium. There he met the physician and health-food promoterJohn Harvey Kellogg, co-inventor ofcorn flakes breakfast cereal, who became his mentor. Sadler married Kellogg's niece,Lena Celestia Kellogg, in 1897. He worked for several Christian organizations and attended medical school, graduating in 1906. Sadler practiced medicine in Chicago with his wife, who was also a physician. He joined several medical associations and taught at theMcCormick Theological Seminary. Although he was a committed member of theSeventh-day Adventist Church for almost twenty years, he left the denomination after it disfellowshipped his wife's uncle,John Harvey Kellogg, in 1907. Sadler and his wife became speakers on theChautauqua adult education circuit in 1907, and he became a highly paid, popular orator. He eventually wrote over 40 books on a variety of medical and spiritual topics advocating aholistic approach to health. Sadler extolled the value of prayer and religion but was skeptical ofmediums, assisting debunkerHoward Thurston, and embraced the scientific consensus onevolution. (Full article...)
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Four of the restaurants in The Dalles affected by the attack
In 1984, 751 people sufferedfood poisoning inThe Dalles, Oregon, United States, due to the deliberate contamination ofsalad bars at ten local restaurants withSalmonella. A group of prominent followers ofRajneesh (also known as Osho) led byMa Anand Sheela had hoped to incapacitate the voting population of the city so that their own candidates would win the 1984Wasco County elections. The incident was the first and largestbioterrorist attack in U.S. history.
Rajneesh's followers had previously gained political control ofAntelope, Oregon, as they were based in the nearbyintentional community ofRajneeshpuram, and they now sought election to two of the three seats on the Wasco County Circuit Court that were up for election in November 1984. Some Rajneeshpuram officials feared that they would not get enough votes, so they decided to incapacitate voters in The Dalles, the largest population center in Wasco County. The chosen biological agent wasSalmonella enterica Typhimurium, which was first delivered through glasses of water to two county commissioners and then at salad bars and in salad dressing. (Full article...)
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (/hoʊmz/; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, andpolymath based in Boston. Grouped among thefireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began withThe Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858). He was also an important medical reformer. In addition to being an author and a poet, Holmes was also a physician, professor, lecturer, and inventor.
Born inCambridge, Massachusetts, Holmes was educated atPhillips Academy andHarvard College. After graduating from Harvard in 1829, he briefly studied law before turning to the medical profession. He began writing poetry at an early age; one of his most famous works, "Old Ironsides", was published in 1830 and was influential in the eventual preservation of theUSSConstitution. Following training at the prestigious medical schools of Paris, Holmes was granted hisDoctor of Medicine degree fromHarvard Medical School in 1836. He taught atDartmouth Medical School before returning to teach at Harvard and, for a time, served as dean there. During his long professorship, he became an advocate for various medical reforms and notably posited the then-controversial idea that doctors were capable of carryingpuerperal fever from patient to patient. Holmes retired from Harvard in 1882 and continued writing poetry, novels and essays until his death in 1894. (Full article...)
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Computer–aided reconstruction of a rotavirus based on several electron micrographs
Rotaviruses are the most common cause ofdiarrhoeal disease among infants and young children. Nearly every child in the world is infected with a rotavirus at least once by the age of five.Immunity develops with each infection, so subsequent infections are less severe. Adults are rarely affected.
The virus is transmitted by thefaecal–oral route. It infects and damages thecells that line thesmall intestine and causesgastroenteritis (which is often called "stomach flu" despite having no relation toinfluenza). Although rotavirus was discovered in 1973 byRuth Bishop and her colleagues by electron micrograph images and accounts for approximately one third of hospitalisations for severe diarrhoea in infants and children, its importance has historically been underestimated within thepublic health community, particularly indeveloping countries. In addition to its impact on human health, rotavirus also infects other animals, and is apathogen of livestock. (Full article...)
In 1858 a batch ofsweets inBradford, England, was accidentallyadulterated with poisonousarsenic trioxide. About five pounds (two kilograms) of sweets were sold to the public, leading to around 20 deaths and over 200 people suffering the effects ofarsenic poisoning.
The adulteration of food had been practised in Britain since before theMiddle Ages, but from 1800, with increasingurbanisation and the rise in shop-purchased food, adulterants became a growing problem. With the cost of sugar high, replacing it with substitutes was common. For the sweets produced in Bradford, the confectioner was supposed to purchasepowdered gypsum, but a mistake at the wholesale chemist meant arsenic was purchased instead. (Full article...)
When infected, ahost cell is often forced to rapidly produce thousands of copies of the original virus. When not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent viral particles, orvirions, consisting of (i)genetic material, i.e., longmolecules ofDNA orRNA that encode the structure of the proteins by which the virus acts; (ii) aprotein coat, thecapsid, which surrounds and protects the genetic material; and in some cases (iii) an outsideenvelope oflipids. The shapes of these virus particles range from simplehelical andicosahedral forms to more complex structures. Most virus species have virions too small to be seen with anoptical microscope and are one-hundredth the size of most bacteria. (Full article...)
Avirus is a tinyinfectious agent thatreproduces inside thecells of livinghosts. When infected, the host cell is forced to rapidly produce thousands of identical copies of the original virus. Unlike mostliving things, viruses do not have cells that divide; new viruses assemble in the infected host cell. But unlike simpler infectious agents likeprions, they containgenes, which allow them tomutate and evolve. Over 4,800species of viruses have beendescribed in detail out of the millions in the environment. Their origin is unclear: some may haveevolved fromplasmids—pieces of DNA that can move between cells—while others may have evolved frombacteria.
Viruses are made of either two or three parts. All includegenes. These genes contain the encoded biological information of the virus and are built from eitherDNA orRNA. All viruses are also covered with aprotein coat to protect the genes. Some viruses may also have anenvelope offat-like substance that covers the protein coat, and makes them vulnerable to soap. A virus with this "viral envelope" uses it—along with specificreceptors—to enter a new host cell. Viruses vary in shape from the simplehelical andicosahedral to morecomplex structures. Viruses range in size from 20 to 300nanometres; it would take 33,000 to 500,000 of them, laid end to end, to stretch to 1 centimetre (0.4 in). (Full article...)
Dengue is spread by several species of femalemosquitoes of theAedesgenus, principallyAedes aegypti. The virus has four confirmedserotypes; infection with one type usually gives lifelongimmunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications, so-calledantibody-dependent enhancement. The symptoms may resemble those ofmalaria,influenza, orZika. Blood tests to confirm the diagnosis including detecting viralRNA, or specificantibodies. (Full article...)
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Heartburn is a burning sensation felt behind thebreastbone. It is a symptom that is commonly linked toacid reflux and is often triggered by food. Lying down, bending, lifting, and performing certainexercises can exacerbate heartburn. Causes include acid reflux,gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), damage to the esophageal lining,bile acid, mechanical stimulation to theesophagus, and esophagealhypersensitivity. Heartburn affects 25% of the population at least once a month.
John Rolph (4 March 1793 – 19 October 1870) was a Canadian physician, lawyer, and political figure. As a politician, he was considered the leader of theReform faction in the 1820s and helped plan theUpper Canada Rebellion. As a doctor, he founded several medical schools and incorporated new teaching techniques and medical procedures into his lectures. However, his actions against rival medical schools decreased public confidence in the ability of medical professionals to regulate themselves.
Rolph grew up in England and was educated in medicine and law. He immigrated toUpper Canada in 1813 and lived on his father's farm inPort Talbot, where he practiced law and medicine concurrently and opened a medical school called the Talbot Dispensary. In 1824, Rolph was elected to theParliament of Upper Canada and returned to England to petition theColonial Office to allow thenaturalization of American citizens in Canada. He was elected as analderman toToronto's first city council, though he resigned after his council colleagues did not select him to be the city's mayor. (Full article...)
Multiplewhite cells seen in the urine of a person with a urinary tract infection usingmicroscopy
Aurinary tract infection (UTI) is aninfection that affects a part of theurinary tract. Lower urinary tract infections may involve thebladder (cystitis) orurethra (urethritis) while upper urinary tract infections affect thekidney (pyelonephritis). Symptoms from a lower urinary tract infection includesuprapubic pain,painful urination, frequency and urgency of urination despite having an empty bladder. Symptoms of a kidney infection, on the other hand, are more systemic and includefever orflank pain usually in addition to the symptoms of a lower UTI. Rarely, the urine may appearbloody. Symptoms may be vague or non-specific at the extremities of age (i.e. in patients who are very young or old).
The most common cause of infection isE. coli, though otherbacteria orfungi may sometimes be the cause. Risk factors include female anatomy,sexual intercourse,diabetes,obesity, catheterisation, and family history. Although sexual intercourse is a risk factor, UTIs are not classified assexually transmitted infections (STIs).Pyelonephritis usually occurs due to an ascending bladder infection but may also result from ablood-borne bacterial infection. Diagnosis in young healthy women can be based on symptoms alone. In those with vague symptoms, diagnosis can be difficult because bacteria may be present without there being an infection. In complicated cases or if treatment fails, aurine culture may be useful. (Full article...)
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Lujan–Fryns syndrome in a young adult male, with features that include a long, narrow face and recessed chin.
CDTM is an expansion of the traditional pharmacistscope of practice, allowing for pharmacist-led management of drug related problems (DRPs) with an emphasis on acollaborative,interdisciplinary approach to pharmacy practice in the healthcare setting. The terms of a CPA are decided by the collaborating pharmacist and physician, though templates exist online. CPAs can be specific to a patient population of interest to the two parties, a specific clinical situation or disease state, and/or may outline an evidence-based protocol for managing the drug regimen of patients under the CPA. CPAs have become the subject of intense debate within the pharmacy and medical professions. (Full article...)
Tobacco was recognised as a medicine soon after it was first imported from theNew World, and tobacco smoke was used by Western medical practitioners as a tool against cold and drowsiness, but applying it by enema was a technique learned from theNorth American indigenous peoples. The procedure was used to treat gut pain, and in attempts toresuscitate victims ofnear drowning. Liquid tobacco enemas were often given to ease the symptoms of ahernia. (Full article...)
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Bisphenol A (BPA) is achemical compound primarily used in the manufacturing of variousplastics. It is a colourless solid which issoluble in most common organicsolvents, but has very poor solubility in water. BPA is produced on an industrial scale by thecondensation reaction ofphenol andacetone. Global production in 2022 was estimated to be in the region of 10 million tonnes.
The onset is mainly attributed to patients withanorexia nervosa who persistently tend to subjectively discern themselves as average or overweight despite adequate, clinical grounds for a classification of being considerably or severely underweight. The symptom is an altered perception of one's body and a severe state of bodily dissatisfaction characterizing thebody image disturbance. It is included among the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa in DSM-5 (criterion C). (Full article...)
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A demonstration of red-eye correction Thered-eye effect in photography is the common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographicflash at low lighting or at night. When a flash passes through the eyes and rebounds at the back of the eye, it causes ared reflex in an image, turning the subject's eyes red. The hue is mostly caused by a high concentration of blood in thechoroid. The effect can also be influenced by the near proximity of the flash andcamera lens. In children, a different hue red reflex, such as white or yellow, may indicate an illness. In animals, a similar effect could cause their eyes to change colors in photographs.
The effect can be avoided physically by instructing the subject to look away from the lens, increasing the brightness of the photographic location, or moving the flash further away from the lens, or digitally by using the red-eye correction option ondigital cameras or by removing the effect in editing software. Scholars have developed a number of red-eye detection techniques to improve digital red-eye removal. (Full article...)
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A blue circle is the universal symbol of diabetes.
Marie "Blanche" Wittman (often spelledWittmann;French pronunciation:[maʁivitman]; April 15, 1859 – 1913) was a French woman known as one of thehysteria patients ofJean-Martin Charcot. She was institutionalized inLa Salpêtrière in 1877, and was treated by Charcot until his death in 1893. She later became a radiology assistant at the hospital, which resulted in amputations of her arms due toradiation poisoning.
Charcot's techniques were controversial; commentators have disagreed as to whether Wittman suffered from a physical condition likeepileptic seizures, suffered from mass hysteria resulting from conditions at La Salpêtrière, or was merely feigning symptoms. She is depicted inA Clinical Lesson at the Salpêtrière (1887) and was the subject of a 2004Per Olov Enquist novel. (Full article...)
Before the war, Mengele received doctorates inanthropology and medicine, and he began a career as a researcher. He joined theNazi Party in 1937 and theSS in 1938. He was assigned as a battalion medical officer at the start of World War II, then transferred to theNazi concentration camps service in early 1943. He was assigned to Auschwitz, where he saw the opportunity to conduct genetic research on human subjects. WithRed Army troops sweeping throughGerman-occupied Poland, Mengele was transferred 280 kilometres (170 miles) away from Auschwitz to theGross-Rosen concentration camp on 17 January 1945, ten days before the arrival of theSoviet forces at Auschwitz. (Full article...)
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Molecular structure of thyroxine, which is deficient in hypothyroidism
An early proponent of hygienic standards during childbirth, DeLee even advocated for the construction of separate hospital buildings for labor and delivery. He was an influential figure in the discussion of whether childbirth required medical interventions to ensure a healthy mother and baby; in 1920, he proposed a standardized, invasive approach to childbirth known as the "prophylactic forceps operation". DeLee believed that mechanical intervention (such asforceps delivery) could prevent the poor outcomes that sometimes resulted from childbirth in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His advocacy of such active techniques is sometimes blamed for the rise in mechanical interventions during childbirth. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Medicine-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Medicine during the First World War - medical transport (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 2Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (fromMedical billing)
Image 3The Quaker-runYork Retreat, founded in 1796, gained international prominence as a centre for moral treatment and a model of asylum reform following the publication ofSamuel Tuke'sDescription of the Retreat (1813). (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 17Theemergency room is often a frontline venue for the delivery of primary medical care. (fromHealth care)
Image 18Global concentrations of health care resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. Data is sourced from aWHOindicator and is from 2017-2023. (fromHealth care)
Image 19A doctor checks a patient's pulse in Meiji-era Japan. (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 22"Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 23The numbers of Americans lacking health insurance and the uninsured rate from 1987 to 2008 (fromHealth insurance)
Image 24Medical personnel place sterilized covers on the arms of thedaVinci Xi surgical system, a minimally-invasive robotic surgery system, at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center. (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 25Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (fromMedical ethics)
Image 28Theplinthios brochos as described by Greek physicianHeraklas, a sling for binding afracturedjaw. These writings were preserved in one ofOribasius' collections. (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 33Acuneiform terracotta tablet describing a medicinal recipe for poisoning (c.18th centuryBCE). Discovered inNippur, Iraq.
Image 34Ethical prayer for medical wisdom by Dr Edmond Fernandes (fromMedical ethics)
Image 35Magical stela or cippus ofHorus inscribed with healing encantations (c. 332 to 280BCE) (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 36A 12th-century manuscript of theHippocratic Oath in Greek, one of the most famous aspects of classical medicine that carried into later eras (fromHistory of medicine)
Image 50Health Expenditure per capita (inPPP-adjustedUS$) among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (fromHealth insurance)
Image 51Most countries have seen a tremendous increase in life expectancy since 1945. However, in southern Africa, the HIV epidemic beginning around 1990 has eroded national health. (fromHistory of medicine)
... thatPlotkin's Vaccines was written by the inventor of the rubella vaccine because he felt that vaccinology had become a distinct field of medicine?
... that medicine deanSjahriar Rasad was accused of being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Indonesian presidentSukarno?
... thatFrederick Warren Freer switched from studying medicine to art after becoming partially deaf?
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