Portal:Medicine

The Medicine Portal

The color fresco Care of The Sick by Domenico di Bartolo, 1441–1442, depicting the Santa Maria della Scala hospital in Siena, Italy

Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.

Medicine has been practiced since prehistoric times, and for most of this time it was an art (an area of creativity and skill), frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher and physician would apply bloodletting according to the theories of humorism. In recent centuries, since the advent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science). For example, while stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.

Prescientific forms of medicine, now known as traditional medicine or folk medicine, remain commonly used in the absence of scientific medicine and are thus called alternative medicine. Alternative treatments outside of scientific medicine with ethical, safety and efficacy concerns are termed quackery. (Full article...)

Featured articles -

Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

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  Typical rash seen in dengue fever

  
  Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. It is frequently asymptomatic; if symptoms appear they typically begin 3 to 14 days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin itching and skin rash. Recovery generally takes two to seven days. In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into severe dengue (previously known as dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome) with bleeding, low levels of blood platelets, blood plasma leakage, and dangerously low blood pressure.
  
  Dengue virus has four confirmed serotypes; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. The symptoms of dengue resemble many other diseases including malaria, influenza, and Zika. Blood tests are available to confirm the diagnosis including detecting viral RNA, or antibodies to the virus. (Full article...)
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  Fluoridation does not affect the appearance, taste or smell of drinking water.

  
  
  Water fluoridation is the addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water contains fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding fluoride. Fluoridated water operates on tooth surfaces: in the mouth, it creates low levels of fluoride in saliva, which reduces the rate at which tooth enamel demineralizes and increases the rate at which it remineralizes in the early stages of cavities. Typically a fluoridated compound is added to drinking water, a process that in the U.S. costs an average of about $1.32 per person-year. Defluoridation is needed when the naturally occurring fluoride level exceeds recommended limits. In 2011, the World Health Organization suggested a level of fluoride from 0.5 to 1.5 mg/L (milligrams per litre), depending on climate, local environment, and other sources of fluoride. In 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program found that water fluoridation levels above 1.5 mg/L are associated with lower IQ in children. In 2024, U.S. court rulings have raised concerns about the potential health risks of water fluoridation, including findings by the EPA and new risk assessments that suggest the benefits may be waning. Bottled water typically has unknown fluoride levels.
  
  
  Tooth decay remains a major public health concern in most industrialized countries, affecting 60–90% of schoolchildren and the vast majority of adults. Water fluoridation reduces cavities in children, while efficacy in adults is less clear. A Cochrane review estimates a reduction in cavities when water fluoridation was used by children who had no access to other sources of fluoride to be 35% in baby teeth and 26% in permanent teeth. Most European countries have experienced substantial declines in tooth decay, though milk and salt fluoridation is widespread in lieu of water fluoridation. Some studies suggest that water fluoridation, particularly in industrialized nations, may be unnecessary because topical fluorides (such as in toothpaste) are widely used, and caries rates have become low. (Full article...)
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  Computer–aided reconstruction of a rotavirus based on several electron micrographs

  
  Rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhoeal 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. Rotavirus is a genus of double-stranded RNA viruses in the family Reoviridae. There are nine species of the genus, referred to as A, B, C, D, F, G, H, I and J. Rotavirus A is the most common species, and these rotaviruses cause more than 90% of rotavirus infections in humans.
  
  The virus is transmitted by the faecal–oral route. It infects and damages the cells that line the small intestine and causes gastroenteritis (which is often called "stomach flu" despite having no relation to influenza). Although rotavirus was discovered in 1973 by Ruth 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 the public health community, particularly in developing countries. In addition to its impact on human health, rotavirus also infects other animals, and is a pathogen of livestock. (Full article...)
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  A large flap lesion in the femur head typical of late stage Osteochondritis dissecans. In this case, the lesion was caused by avascular necrosis of the bone just under the cartilage.

  
  Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD or OD) is a joint disorder primarily of the subchondral bone in which cracks form in the articular cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone. OCD usually causes pain during and after sports. In later stages of the disorder there will be swelling of the affected joint that catches and locks during movement. Physical examination in the early stages does only show pain as symptom, in later stages there could be an effusion, tenderness, and a crackling sound with joint movement.
  
  
  OCD is caused by blood deprivation of the secondary physes around the bone core of the femoral condyle. This happens to the epiphyseal vessels under the influence of repetitive overloading of the joint during running and jumping sports. During growth such chondronecrotic areas grow into the subchondral bone. There it will show as bone defect area under articular cartilage. The bone will then possibly heal to the surrounding condylar bone in 50% of the cases. Or it will develop into a pseudarthrosis between condylar bone core and osteochondritis flake leaving the articular cartilage it supports prone to damage. The damage is executed by ongoing sport overload. The result is fragmentation (dissection) of both cartilage and bone, and the free movement of these bone and cartilage fragments within the joint space, causing pain, blockage and further damage. OCD has a typical anamnesis with pain during and after sports without any history of trauma. Some symptoms of late stages of osteochondritis dissecans are found with other diseases like rheumatoid disease of children and meniscal ruptures. The disease can be confirmed by X-rays, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. (Full article...)
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  Linezolid is an antibiotic used for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to other antibiotics. Linezolid is active against most Gram-positive bacteria that cause disease, including streptococci, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The main uses are infections of the skin and pneumonia although it may be used for a variety of other infections including drug-resistant tuberculosis. It is used either by injection into a vein or by mouth.
  
  
  When given for short periods, linezolid is a relatively safe antibiotic. It can be used in people of all ages and in people with liver disease or poor kidney function. Common side effects with short-term use include headache, diarrhea, rash, and nausea. Serious side effects may include serotonin syndrome, bone marrow suppression, and high blood lactate levels, particularly when used for more than two weeks. If used for longer periods it may cause nerve damage, including optic nerve damage, which may be irreversible. (Full article...)
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  McGill in her laboratory, 1942

  
  Frances Gertrude McGill (November 18, 1882 – January 21, 1959) was a Canadian forensic pathologist, criminologist, bacteriologist, allergologist and allergist. Nicknamed "the Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan" for her deductive skills and public fame, McGill influenced the development of forensic pathology in Canadian police work and was internationally noted for her expertise in the subject.
  
  After completing her medical degree at the University of Manitoba in 1915, McGill moved to Saskatchewan, where she was hired first as the provincial bacteriologist and then as the provincial pathologist. She worked extensively with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and local police forces for more than thirty years, and was instrumental in establishing the first RCMP forensic laboratory. She directed the RCMP laboratory for three years, and trained new RCMP recruits in forensic detection methods. After retiring in 1946, McGill was appointed Honorary Surgeon for the RCMP by the Canadian Minister of Justice, becoming one of the first official female members of the force, and she continued to act as a consultant to the RCMP until her death in 1959. (Full article...)
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  Debora Green (née Jones; born February 28, 1951) is an American physician who pleaded no contest to setting a 1995 fire that burned down her family's home and killed two of her children, and to poisoning her husband with ricin with the intention of causing his death. The case was sensational, and covered heavily by news media, especially in the Kansas–Missouri area, where the crimes occurred. Though Green has petitioned for a new trial twice in recent years, her requests have not been successful.
  
  Green married Michael Farrar in 1979 while practicing as an emergency physician. The marriage was tumultuous, and Farrar filed for divorce in July 1995. Between August and September 1995, Farrar repeatedly fell violently ill, and despite numerous hospitalizations his doctors could not pinpoint the source of his illness. Green's emotional stability deteriorated and she began to drink heavily, even while supervising her children. On October 24, 1995, the Farrar family home, occupied by Green and the couple's three children — Timothy (age 13), Kate (age 10), and Kelly (age 6) — caught fire. Debora Green and Kate escaped without harm. Despite the efforts of firefighters, Timothy and Kelly died in the blaze. Investigation showed that trails of accelerant in the house led back to Green's bedroom, and that the source of Michael Farrar's intractable illness had been ricin, a poison served to him in his food by Green. (Full article...)
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  Major General Rupert Major Downes, CMG, KStJ, VD, FRACS (10 February 1885 – 5 March 1945) was an Australian soldier, surgeon and historian.
  
  The son of British Army officer Major Francis Downes, Downes joined the Army as a trumpeter while he was still at school. He attended the University of Melbourne, graduating with his medical degrees in 1907 and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1911. He was commissioned as a captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1908, and after the outbreak of the First World War he joined the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1914 as its youngest lieutenant colonel. He served in the Gallipoli campaign, and was appointed Assistant Director of Medical Services (ADMS) of the newly formed Anzac Mounted Division in 1916, which he combined with the post of ADMS AIF Egypt. In 1917, he became Deputy Director of Medical Services (DDMS) of the Desert Mounted Corps. After the war, he wrote articles on medical aspects of the Sinai and Palestine campaign, and the section on the campaign for the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. (Full article...)
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  Buruli ulcer lesions. Top-left, an early ulcer. Top-right, a larger ulcer across the lower arm and wrist. Bottom, a large ulcer on the thigh.

  
  Buruli ulcer (/bəˈruːli/) is an infectious disease characterized by the development of painless open wounds. The disease is limited to certain areas of the world, most cases occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia. The first sign of infection is a small painless nodule or area of swelling, typically on the arms or legs. The nodule grows larger over days to weeks, eventually forming an open ulcer. Deep ulcers can cause scarring of muscles and tendons, resulting in permanent disability.
  
  Buruli ulcer is caused by skin infection with bacteria called Mycobacterium ulcerans. The mechanism by which M. ulcerans is transmitted from the environment to humans is not known, but may involve the bite of an aquatic insect or the infection of open wounds. Once in the skin, M. ulcerans grows and releases the toxin mycolactone, which blocks the normal function of cells, resulting in tissue death and immune suppression at the site of the ulcer. (Full article...)
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  Tatsuguchi soon after his induction into the Imperial Japanese Army in 1941 and his initial assignment to the First Imperial Guard Regiment in Tokyo

  Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi (辰口 信夫, Tatsuguchi Nobuo), sometimes mistakenly referred to as Nebu Tatsuguchi (August 31, 1911 – May 30, 1943), was a Japanese soldier and surgeon who served in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. He was killed during the Battle of Attu on Attu Island, Alaska, United States, on May 30, 1943.
  
  A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Tatsuguchi studied medicine and was licensed as a physician in the United States (US). He returned to his native Japan to practice medicine at the Tokyo Adventist Sanitarium, where he received further medical training. In 1941, he was ordered to cease his medical practice and conscripted into the IJA as an acting medical officer, although he was given an enlisted rather than officer rank because of his American connections. In late 1942, Tatsuguchi was sent to Attu, which had been occupied by Japanese forces in June 1942. On May 11, 1943, The United States Army landed on the island, intending to retake American soil from the Japanese. (Full article...)
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  Urine from a person with rhabdomyolysis showing the characteristic brown discoloration as a result of myoglobinuria

  
  Rhabdomyolysis (shortened as rhabdo) is a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly, often due to high intensity exercise over a short period. Symptoms may include muscle pains, weakness, vomiting, and confusion. There may be tea-colored urine or an irregular heartbeat. Some of the muscle breakdown products, such as the protein myoglobin, are harmful to the kidneys and can cause acute kidney injury.
  
  
  The muscle damage is most usually caused by a crush injury, strenuous exercise, medications, or a substance use disorder. Other causes include infections, electrical injury, heat stroke, prolonged immobilization, lack of blood flow to a limb, or snake bites as well as intense or prolonged exercise, particularly in hot conditions. Statins (prescription drugs to lower cholesterol) are considered a small risk. Some people have inherited muscle conditions that increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis. The diagnosis is supported by a urine test strip which is positive for "blood" but the urine contains no red blood cells when examined with a microscope. Blood tests show a creatine kinase activity greater than 1000 U/L, with severe disease being above 5000–15000 U/L. (Full article...)
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  Four of the restaurants in The Dalles affected by the attack

  
  In 1984, 751 people suffered food poisoning in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, due to the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with Salmonella. A group of prominent followers of Rajneesh (later known as Osho) led by Ma Anand Sheela had hoped to incapacitate the voting population of the city so that their own candidates would win the 1984 Wasco County elections. The incident was the first and is still the single largest bioterrorist attack in U.S. history.
  
  Rajneesh's followers had previously gained political control of Antelope, Oregon, as they were based in the nearby intentional community of Rajneeshpuram, 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 was Salmonella 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...)
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  Diagram of prostate tumor pressing on urethra

  
  Prostate cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of prostate tissue is usually detected through screening tests, typically blood tests that check for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Those with high levels of PSA in their blood are at increased risk for developing prostate cancer. Diagnosis requires a biopsy of the prostate. If cancer is present, the pathologist assigns a Gleason score, and a higher score represents a more dangerous tumor. Medical imaging is performed to look for cancer that has spread outside the prostate. Based on the Gleason score, PSA levels, and imaging results, a cancer case is assigned a stage 1 to 4. A higher stage signifies a more advanced, more dangerous disease.
  
  Most prostate tumors remain small and cause no health problems. These are managed with active surveillance, monitoring the tumor with regular tests to ensure it has not grown. Tumors more likely to be dangerous can be destroyed with radiation therapy or surgically removed by radical prostatectomy. Those whose cancer spreads beyond the prostate are treated with hormone therapy which reduces levels of the androgens (male sex hormones) that prostate cells need to survive. Eventually cancer cells can grow resistant to this treatment. This most-advanced stage of the disease, called castration-resistant prostate cancer, is treated with continued hormone therapy alongside the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. Some tumors metastasize (spread) to other areas of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes. There, tumors cause severe bone pain, leg weakness or paralysis, and eventually death. Prostate cancer prognosis depends on how far the cancer has spread at diagnosis. Most men diagnosed have tumors confined to the prostate; 99% of them survive more than 10 years from their diagnoses. Tumors that have metastasized to distant body sites are most dangerous, with five-year survival rates of 30–40%. (Full article...)
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  Rolph, c. 1870

  
  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 the Reform faction in the 1820s and helped plan the Upper 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 to Upper Canada in 1813 and lived on his father's farm in Port Talbot, where he practiced law and medicine concurrently and opened a medical school called the Talbot Dispensary. In 1824, Rolph was elected to the Parliament of Upper Canada and returned to England to petition the Colonial Office to allow the naturalization of American citizens in Canada. He was elected as an alderman to Toronto's first city council, though he resigned after his council colleagues did not select him to be the city's mayor. (Full article...)
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  Biopsy of small bowel showing coeliac disease manifested by blunting of villi, crypt hyperplasia, and lymphocyte infiltration of crypts

  
  Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine, where individuals develop intolerance to gluten, present in foods such as wheat, rye and barley. Classic symptoms include gastrointestinal problems such as chronic diarrhoea, abdominal distention, malabsorption, loss of appetite, and among children failure to grow normally. Non-classic symptoms are more common, especially in people older than two years. There may be mild or absent gastrointestinal symptoms, a wide number of symptoms involving any part of the body, or no obvious symptoms. Coeliac disease was first described in childhood; however, it may develop at any age. It is associated with other autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes mellitus and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, among others.
  
  Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to gluten, a group of various proteins found in wheat and in other grains such as barley and rye. Moderate quantities of oats, free of contamination with other gluten-containing grains, are usually tolerated. The occurrence of problems may depend on the variety of oat. It occurs more often in people who are genetically predisposed. Upon exposure to gluten, an abnormal immune response may lead to the production of several different autoantibodies that can affect a number of different organs. In the small bowel, this causes an inflammatory reaction and may produce shortening of the villi lining the small intestine (villous atrophy). This affects the absorption of nutrients, frequently leading to anaemia. (Full article...)

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  Willis John Potts (March 22, 1895 – May 5, 1968) was an American pediatric surgeon and one of the earliest physicians to focus on the surgical treatment of heart problems in children. Potts set up one of the country's first pediatric surgery programs at Children's Memorial Hospital (later renamed Lurie Children's Hospital) in Chicago.
  
  A graduate of the University of Chicago and Rush Medical College, Potts was known for introducing a surgery to address the heart defects that resulted in blue baby syndrome; the procedure became known as the Potts shunt. In addition, Potts performed the first successful repair of a cardiovascular abnormality known as a pulmonary artery sling. He also invented several surgical instruments, with a particular emphasis on devices used in surgery on major blood vessels. (Full article...)
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  Bernard Crespi, the primary originator of the hypothesis, in 2016

  
  The imprinted brain hypothesis is an unsubstantiated hypothesis in evolutionary psychology regarding the causes of autism spectrum and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, first presented by Bernard Crespi and Christopher Badcock in 2008. It claims that certain autistic and schizotypal traits are opposites, and that this implies the etiology of the two conditions must be at odds.
  
  The imprinted brain hypothesis is based around genomic imprinting, an epigenetic process through which genes are expressed differently by way of one parent's contribution having more effect than the other. Specifically, proponents of the imprinted brain hypothesis propose that autism spectrum disorders are caused by paternal overimprinting, while schizophrenia spectrum disorders are caused by maternal overimprinting; they point to a number of supposed correlations and anticorrelations seen between the disorders and other traits to support the hypothesis. (Full article...)
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  Arrow points to brachytherapy beads used to treat prostate cancer.

  
  Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. The word "brachytherapy" comes from the Greek word βραχύς, brachys, meaning "short-distance" or "short". Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prostate, breast, esophageal and skin cancer and can also be used to treat tumours in many other body sites. Treatment results have demonstrated that the cancer-cure rates of brachytherapy are either comparable to surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or are improved when used in combination with these techniques. Brachytherapy can be used alone or in combination with other therapies such as surgery, EBRT and chemotherapy.
  
  Brachytherapy contrasts with unsealed source radiotherapy, in which a therapeutic radionuclide (radioisotope) is injected into the body to chemically localize to the tissue requiring destruction. It also contrasts to External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT), in which high-energy x-rays (or occasionally gamma-rays from a radioisotope like cobalt-60) are directed at the tumour from outside the body. Brachytherapy instead involves the precise placement of short-range radiation-sources (radioisotopes, iodine-125 or caesium-131 for instance) directly at the site of the cancerous tumour. These are enclosed in a protective capsule or wire, which allows the ionizing radiation to escape to treat and kill surrounding tissue but prevents the charge of radioisotope from moving or dissolving in body fluids. The capsule may be removed later, or (with some radioisotopes) it may be allowed to remain in place. (Full article...)
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  Premastication, pre-chewing, or kiss feeding is the act of chewing food for the purpose of physically breaking it down in order to feed another that is incapable of masticating the food by themselves. This is often done by the mother or relatives of a baby to produce baby food capable of being consumed by the child during the weaning process. The chewed food in the form of a bolus is transferred from the mouth of one individual to another, either directly mouth-to-mouth, via utensils, hands, or is further cooked or processed prior to feeding.
  
  The behaviour was common throughout human history and societies and observed in non-human animals. While premastication is less common in present-day Western societies, it was commonly practised, and is still done in more traditional cultures. Although the health benefits of premastication are still being actively studied, the practice appears to confer certain nutritional and immunological benefits to the infant, provided that the caretaker is in good health and not infected by pathogens. (Full article...)
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  Mayo Foundation v. United States, 562 U.S. 44 (2011), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld a Treasury Department regulation on the grounds that the courts should defer to government agencies in tax cases in absence of an unreasonable decision on the part of the agency.
  
  Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), students and their educational employers are exempted from paying Social Security taxes. The Treasury Department issued a regulation in 2004, declaring those who worked more than 40 hours a week were ineligible for such an exemption. The Mayo Foundation filed suit to challenge the regulation and for a refund of the taxes it had paid on its medical residents—recently graduated physicians, who work more than full-time providing patient care but who are still considered trainees by the medical profession. The District Court ruled for the Mayo Foundation and struck the regulation, but was reversed by the Court of Appeals. (Full article...)
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  The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI-1A, BDI-II), created by Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, one of the most widely used psychometric tests for measuring the severity of depression. Its development marked a shift among mental health professionals, who had until then, viewed depression from a psychodynamic perspective, instead of it being rooted in the patient's own thoughts.
  
  In its current version, the BDI-II is designed for individuals aged 13 and over, and is composed of items relating to symptoms of depression such as hopelessness and irritability, cognitions such as guilt or feelings of being punished, as well as physical symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, and lack of interest in sex. (Full article...)
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  William Heath Byford (March 20, 1817 – May 21, 1890) was an American physician, surgeon, gynecologist and advocate of medical education for women who was most notable for founding the Chicago Medical College and Woman's Medical College of Chicago.
  
  Byford was born in Eaton, Ohio. After graduating from the Medical College of Ohio, he served on multiple chairs at the Evansville Medical College and Rush Medical College. In 1859, after he quit from Rush, he founded the Chicago Medical College along with his colleagues, where he also received the chair of obstetrics. (Full article...)
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  Bronston in 1981

  
  William Bronston (born March 1939) is an American physician and activist known for his involvement in the deinstitutionalization of Willowbrook State School in the early 1970s. Born in Los Angeles, Bronston graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles and the USC School of Medicine. At USC, he was a prominent student activist, organizing social and political public health projects and co-founding the New Left Student Health Organization. After graduating from USC in 1965, Bronston began his residency at the Menninger School of Psychiatry in Kansas, but was expelled from the institution after leading a sit-in for improvements in wages and working conditions for direct support professionals.
  
  After his expulsion in 1968, Bronston moved to New York City where he briefly worked at a Black Panther Party medical clinic before leaving to become a staff physician at Willowbrook State School, a state institution for children with intellectual disabilities. At Willowbrook, Bronston quickly became critical of the institution's leadership and standards, clashing with Jack Hammond, the institute's director. In 1971, Bronston went public with his grievances and organized a movement to reform the institution, which culminated in a 1975 court decision deinstitutionalizing the school. Afterwards, Bronston returned to California, where he became the medical director of the Department of Developmental Disabilities at the California Department of Health and later at the California Department of Rehabilitation. (Full article...)
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  The nomenclature of monoclonal antibodies is a naming scheme for assigning generic, or nonproprietary, names to monoclonal antibodies. An antibody is a protein that is produced in B cells and used by the immune system of humans and other vertebrate animals to identify a specific foreign object like a bacterium or a virus. Monoclonal antibodies are those that were produced in identical cells, often artificially, and so share the same target object. They have a wide range of applications including medical uses.
  
  This naming scheme is used for both the World Health Organization's International Nonproprietary Names (INN) and the United States Adopted Names (USAN) for pharmaceuticals. In general, word stems are used to identify classes of drugs, in most cases placed word-finally. All monoclonal antibody names assigned until 2021 end with the stem -mab; newer names have different stems. Unlike most other pharmaceuticals, monoclonal antibody nomenclature uses different preceding word parts (morphemes) depending on structure and function. These are officially called substems and sometimes erroneously infixes, even by the USAN Council itself. (Full article...)
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  Biological determinism, also known as genetic determinism, is the belief that human behaviour is directly controlled by an individual's genes or some component of their physiology, generally at the expense of the role of the environment, whether in embryonic development or in learning. Genetic reductionism is a similar concept, but it is distinct from genetic determinism in that the former refers to the level of understanding, while the latter refers to the supposed causal role of genes. Biological determinism has been associated with movements in science and society including eugenics, scientific racism, and the debates around the heritability of IQ, the basis of sexual orientation, and evolutionary foundations of cooperation in sociobiology.
  
  In 1892, the German evolutionary biologist August Weismann proposed in his germ plasm theory that heritable information is transmitted only via germ cells, which he thought contained determinants (genes). The English polymath Francis Galton, supposing that undesirable traits such as club foot and criminality were inherited, advocated eugenics, aiming to prevent supposedly defective people from breeding. The American physician Samuel George Morton and the French physician Paul Broca attempted to relate the cranial capacity (internal skull volume) to skin colour, intending to show that white people were superior. Other workers such as the American psychologists H. H. Goddard and Robert Yerkes attempted to measure people's intelligence and to show that the resulting scores were heritable, again to demonstrate the supposed superiority of people with white skin. (Full article...)
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  General skeletal formula of cobalamins

  
  Vitamin B₁₂, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It is important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the circulatory system in the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. Plants do not need cobalamin and carry out the reactions with enzymes that are not dependent on it.
  
  Vitamin B₁₂ is the most chemically complex of all vitamins, and for humans the only vitamin that must be sourced from animal-derived foods or supplements. Only some archaea and bacteria can synthesize vitamin B₁₂. Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency is a widespread condition that is particularly prevalent in populations with low consumption of animal foods. Such diets can be due to a variety of reasons, such as low socioeconomic status, ethical considerations, or lifestyle choices such as veganism. (Full article...)
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  Frances Rix Ames (/ˈfrɑːnsɪz eɪmz/; 20 April 1920 – 11 November 2002) was a South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist, best known for leading the medical ethics inquiry into the death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who died from medical neglect after being tortured in police custody. When the South African Medical and Dental Council (SAMDC) declined to discipline the chief district surgeon and his assistant who treated Biko, Ames and a group of five academics and physicians raised funds and fought an eight-year legal battle against the medical establishment. Ames risked her personal safety and academic career in her pursuit of justice, taking the dispute to the South African Supreme Court, where she eventually won the case in 1985.
  
  Born in Pretoria and raised in poverty in Cape Town, Ames became the first woman to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Cape Town in 1964. Ames studied the effects of cannabis on the brain and published several articles on the subject. Seeing the therapeutic benefits of cannabis on patients in her own hospital, she became an early proponent of legalization for medicinal use. She headed the neurology department at Groote Schuur Hospital before retiring in 1985, but continued to lecture at Valkenberg and Alexandra Hospital. After apartheid was dismantled in 1994, Ames testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about her work on the "Biko doctors" medical ethics inquiry. In 1999, Nelson Mandela awarded Ames the Star of South Africa, the country's highest civilian award, in recognition of her work on behalf of human rights. (Full article...)
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  Coutard in 1937

  
  Henri Coutard (27 August 1876 – 16 March 1950) was a French radiation therapist. He is known for his studies of radiation therapy for the treatment of laryngeal cancer and the development of the "protracted-fractional method" of radiation dosing.
  
  Born in Marolles-les-Braults in the French department of Sarthe, Coutard attended medical school at University of Paris and graduated in 1902. He served in the French Army and lived for several years in the Jura Mountains before returning to Paris to study the medical applications of radium. During World War I, he worked in one of the radiological ambulance units overseen by the Polish-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie. He became the chief of the X-ray department at the Radium Institute of the University of Paris in 1919, working closely with Claudius Regaud and other scientists. Coutard's early work demonstrating the efficacy of radiating patients with laryngeal cancer led to the adoption of radiation therapy as a primary course of cancer treatment. The protracted-fractional method consisted of long durations of radiation applied over several weeks. (Full article...)
• 
  Potassium is a chemical element; it has symbol K (from Neo-Latin kalium) and atomic number 19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to form flaky white potassium peroxide in only seconds of exposure. It was first isolated from potash, the ashes of plants, from which its name derives. In the periodic table, potassium is one of the alkali metals, all of which have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which is easily removed to create an ion with a positive charge (which combines with anions to form salts). In nature, potassium occurs only in ionic salts. Elemental potassium reacts vigorously with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite hydrogen emitted in the reaction, and burning with a lilac-colored flame. It is found dissolved in seawater (which is 0.04% potassium by weight), and occurs in many minerals such as orthoclase, a common constituent of granites and other igneous rocks.
  
  Potassium is chemically very similar to sodium, the previous element in group 1 of the periodic table. They have a similar first ionization energy, which allows for each atom to give up its sole outer electron. It was first suggested in 1702 that they were distinct elements that combine with the same anions to make similar salts, which was demonstrated in 1807 when elemental potassium was first isolated via electrolysis. Naturally occurring potassium is composed of three isotopes, of which ⁴⁰
  K is radioactive. Traces of ⁴⁰
  K are found in all potassium, and it is the most common radioisotope in the human body. (Full article...)
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  CT scan showing cerebral contusions, hemorrhage within the hemispheres, and subdural hematoma. There is also displaced skull fracture of left transverse parietal and temporal bones.

  
  A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumatic brain injury. TBI can also be characterized based on mechanism (closed or penetrating head injury) or other features (e.g., occurring in a specific location or over a widespread area). Head injury is a broader category that may involve damage to other structures such as the scalp and skull. TBI can result in physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioral symptoms, and outcomes can range from complete recovery to permanent disability or death.
  
  
  Causes include falls, vehicle collisions and violence. Brain trauma occurs as a consequence of a sudden acceleration or deceleration within the cranium or by a complex combination of both movement and sudden impact. In addition to the damage caused at the moment of injury, a variety of events following the injury may result in further injury. These processes may include alterations in cerebral blood flow and pressure within the skull. Some of the imaging techniques used for diagnosis of moderate to severe TBI include computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs). (Full article...)

Did you know –

• ...Genotoxicity is the proper term for the DNA damaging property of many carcinogens. These chemicals alter DNA to induce mutations and then apoptosis. While this is a common property in chemicals that cause cancer it is also a property in drugs that fight cancer; these drugs alter the DNA of cancerous cells leading to mutations in cancer cells and eventual cell death.

• ...erythema infectiosum is the fifth disease of childhood, also known as slapped cheek syndrome, slap face or slapped face? It's caused by parvovirus B19, and usually follows a mild course.
• ...Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes detrimental effects mainly to the brain and liver? The cause of Reye's syndrome remains unknown; however, a link was found with the use of aspirin or other salicylates in children and adolescents who have a viral infection such as influenza, chicken pox or the common cold. The potentially increased risk of contracting Reye's syndrome is one of the main reasons that aspirin is not recommended for use in people under the age of 16.
• ...systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) is a chronic, potentially debilitating or fatal autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage?

General images –

The following are images from various Medicine-related articles on Wikipedia.

• 
  A 12th-century Byzantine manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Hospital train "Therapist Matvei Mudrov" in Khabarovsk, Russia (from Health care)
• 
  Primary care may be provided in community health centers. (from Health care)
• 
  The emergency room is often a frontline venue for the delivery of primary medical care. (from Health care)
• 
  Mandrake (written 'ΜΑΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΑ' in Greek capitals). Naples Dioscurides, 7th century (from History of medicine)
• 
  Yarrow, a medicinal plant found in human-occupied caves in the Upper Palaeolithic period. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (from Medical billing)
• 
  Medical personnel place sterilized covers on the arms of the daVinci Xi surgical system, a minimally-invasive robotic surgery system, at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Galen (129–216 CE), known for his wide insights into anatomy. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Sometimes traditional medicines include parts of endangered species, such as the slow loris in Southeast Asia. (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  Sketch of Muslim physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (from History of medicine)
• 
  "More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette" advertisement for Camel cigarettes in the 1940s (from Medical ethics)
• 
  A Ukrainian monument to the HIV pandemic. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Magical stela or cippus of Horus inscribed with healing encantations (c. 332 to 280 BCE). (from History of medicine)
• 
  Seven named physicians and botanists of the Classical world from Vienna Dioscurides. Clockwise from top center: Galen, Dioscorides, Nicander, Rufus of Ephesus, Andreas of Carystus, Apollonius Mus or of Pergamon, Crateuas (from History of medicine)
• 
  Zhang Zhongjing – a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A cuneiform terracotta tablet describing a medicinal recipe for poisoning (c. 18th century BCE). Discovered in Nippur, Iraq.
• 
  Botánicas such as this one in Jamaica Plain, Boston, cater to the Latino community and sell folk medicine alongside statues of saints, candles decorated with prayers, lucky bamboo, and other items. (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  A cochlear implant is a common kind of neural prosthesis, a device replacing part of the human nervous system. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Statue of Robert Koch, father of medical bacteriology, at Robert-Koch-Platz (Robert Koch square) in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,547 beds (from Health care)
• 
  Depiction of smallpox in Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagún's history of the conquest of Mexico, Book XII of the Florentine Codex, from the defeated Aztecs' point of view (from History of medicine)
• 
  Life expectancy vs healthcare spending of rich OECD countries. US average of $10,447 in 2018. (from Health care)
• 
  The Quaker-run York Retreat, founded in 1796, gained international prominence as a centre for moral treatment and a model of asylum reform following the publication of Samuel Tuke's Description of the Retreat (1813). (from History of medicine)
• 
  Guy's Hospital in 1820 (from History of medicine)
• 
  COVID-19 swab testing in Rwanda (2021). (from History of medicine)
• 
  The numbers of Americans lacking health insurance and the uninsured rate from 1987 to 2008 (from Health insurance)
• 
  Most countries have seen a tremendous increase in life expectancy since 1945. However, in southern Africa, the HIV epidemic beginning around 1990 has eroded national health. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Global concentrations of health care resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. Data is sourced from a World Health Statistics 2010, a WHO report. (from Health care)
• 
  Life Expectancy of the total population at birth among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  Mexico City epidemic of 1737, with elites calling on the Virgin of Guadalupe (from History of medicine)
• 
  Smallpox vaccination in Niger, 1969. A decade later, this was the first infectious disease to be eradicated. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Health Expenditure per capita (in PPP-adjusted US$) among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  Health spending by country. Percent of GDP (Gross domestic product). For example: 11.2% for Canada in 2022. 16.6% for the United States in 2022. (from Health care)
• 
  Patient, Surrey County Lunatic Asylum, c. 1850–58. The asylum population in England and Wales rose from 1,027 in 1827 to 74,004 in 1900. (from History of medicine)
• 
  American Civil War hospital at Gettysburg, 1863 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Replica of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope of the 1670s (from History of medicine)
• 
  Louis Pasteur experimenting on bacteria, c. 1870 (from History of medicine)
• 
  American combat surgery during the Pacific War, 1943 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE). Known as the "father of medicine". (from History of medicine)
• 
  Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926), the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics. (from History of medicine)
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  Traditional medicine in a market in Antananarivo, Madagascar (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  healthcare expenditure in Japan by age group (from Health insurance)
• 
  The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, written in the 17th century BCE, contains the earliest recorded reference to the brain. New York Academy of Medicine. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A 12th-century manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath in Greek, one of the most famous aspects of classical medicine that carried into later eras (from History of medicine)
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  AMA Code of Medical Ethics (from Medical ethics)
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  18th-century medical remedies collected by a British Gentry family (from History of medicine)
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  A doctor checks a patient's pulse in Meiji-era Japan. (from History of medicine)
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  An American billing clerk preparing a detailed invoice. (1992) (from Medical billing)
• 
  Curandera performing a limpieza in Cuenca, Ecuador (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  "Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Ethical prayer for medical wisdom by Dr Edmond Fernandes (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Medicine during the First World War - Medical Transport. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet fragment describing medical text (c. 9th to 7th century BCE). (from History of medicine)
• 
  Charite in Berlin (from History of medicine)
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  Total healthcare cost per person. Public and private spending. US dollars PPP. For example: $6,319 for Canada in 2022. $12,555 for the US in 2022. (from Health care)
• 
  The plinthios brochos as described by Greek physician Heraklas, a sling for binding a fractured jaw. These writings were preserved in one of Oribasius' collections. (from History of medicine)
• 
  National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, United Kingdom is a specialist neurological hospital. (from Health care)

More Did you know (auto generated)

• ... that fourteenth-century Buddhist monk Tuệ Tĩnh is referred to as a founding father of traditional Vietnamese medicine?
• ... that Constance Fozzard was told during her surgical training that women with children could not become consultants?
• ... that Margaret C. Roberts was encouraged to study medicine by LDS Church leader Brigham Young to reduce mortality rates during childbirth?
• ... that a lack of screening for pregnant women with syphilis in sub-Saharan Africa is associated with increased infant mortality?
• ... that the Anglo-Saxons may have used a mixture of garlic, another Allium, wine, and bovine bile as an eye medicine?
• ... that the Noongar used the Eucalyptus wandoo tree as a medicine and ointment?

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