Medical is the discipline of health care and the study of diseases and illnesses. The medical field covers a wide range of disciplines that include anthropology, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, medicine and neuroscience. Medicine is also concerned with the use of drugs and surgery to treat disease. Medical terminology is a highly specialized language that uses prefixes, suffixes and roots to describe anatomical structures, procedures and conditions.
Throughout history, people have sought to understand and control their health and wellbeing. Early medical practices included the use of plants (herbalism), animal parts and minerals. These were used ritually in ceremonies to promote health, cure disease and create a connection with the divine. Other ancient healing practices were based on spiritual beliefs such as animism (the idea that inanimate objects have spirits); spiritualism; shamanism, and divination.
The development of modern medicines has been driven by scientific research. Pharmaceuticals are now designed to target specific physiological processes with minimal side-effects. Knowledge of genetics and evolution has also had a major impact on medicine.
Modern medicine is delivered by a team of healthcare professionals that often includes nurses, physician’s assistants, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and medical physicists. These practitioners are part of an interdisciplinary team that provides patients with the best possible care. The team often meets with the patient before and after any treatment to discuss the plan of action, answer questions and record the encounter in the medical record – a legal document in many countries.
In advanced industrialised countries, most citizens are covered by a universal health care system that provides funding for all hospital and clinical treatments regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. The system can be financed by general taxation, national insurance contributions or private health insurance schemes.
There are also a number of non-universal systems that provide basic health care in their respective regions. Some of these offer specialised treatment for certain chronic or serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease, mental illness and infectious diseases.
Modern medicine has expanded greatly since the fourteenth century, when Siena’s Santa Maria della Scala Hospital became one of Europe’s first. A number of new branches have emerged, including conservation medicine (the study of human and non-human animals and their environment), disaster medicine, diving medicine and evolutionary medicine. These are complemented by public health medicine, occupational medicine and palliative medicine. Medical ethics and law are important aspects of this expanding field. In most countries, doctors must be licensed in order to practise medicine. These laws are intended to ensure that patients receive quality treatment and protect them from charlatans. The licensing process varies from country to country but generally entails a degree and accreditation by a medical board. This is usually accompanied by an examination and extensive written work.