Medicine & Public Health in Credo: Health Professions and Disciplines

Medical specialty dealing with anesthesia and related matters, including resuscitation and pain. Loss of sensation, especially that of pain, induced by drugs, especially as a means of facilitating safe surgical procedures.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Medical specialty dealing with heart diseases and disorders. Cardiologists provide continuing care of heart patients, doing basic heart-function studies, supervising therapy, including drug therapy, and working closely with heart surgeons.

From Columbia Encyclopedia
Branch of medicine concerned with diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the skin. Dermatologists also study the structure and function of the skin, and the relationship between skin pathologies and malfunctions of other organs of the body.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Medical discipline dealing with regulation of body functions by hormones and other biochemicals and treatment of endocrine system imbalances.

The branch of medicine concerned with the care of the elderly, and with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders associated with aging. Many disabilities in old age are caused by or related to the deterioration of the circulatory system (see arteriosclerosis), e.g., mental deterioration and disturbances of motor and sensory function are often associated with an insufficient blood supply.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Branch of medicine specializing in the disorders of the female reproductive system.

From The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Technology Study of the morphology, physiology, and pathology of the human nervous system. Since the brain, spine, and eye are integral part of the nervous system, the domain of neurology overlaps that of psychiatry, orthopedics and ophthalmology.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of women during pregnancy, labor, childbirth (see birth), and the time after childbirth. Obstetrics is often combined with gynecology as a medical specialty.

From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Oncology is a specialized branch of medicine that focuses on the research, diagnoses, and treatment of cancer.

Branch of medicine specializing in the anatomy, function and diseases of the eye. Ophthalmologists specialize in the medical and surgical treatment of eye disorders, vision measurements for glasses (refraction), eye muscle exercises (orthoptics), and the prevention of blindness and care of the blind.

Medical specialty concerned with the correction of disease or damage in bones and joints.

From The Macmillan Encyclopedia
The branch of medicine concerned with the study of disease and disease processes in order to understand their causes and nature.

From The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development
Medical specialty dealing with the development, health, and diseases of children.

Branch of medicine that concerns the diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, including major depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety.

A technique of traditional Chinese medicine, in which a number of very fine metal needles are inserted into the skin at specially designated points.

State of dependence caused by frequent and regular use of drugs, alcohol, or other substances. It is characterized by uncontrolled craving, tolerance, and symptoms of withdrawal when access is denied. Habitual use produces changes in body chemistry and treatment must be geared to a gradual reduction in dosage.

Approaches to the treatment of illness using procedures other than those recommended by orthodox medical science; also known as complementary medicine.

Branch of biology concerned with the study of body structure of various organisms, including humans.

In an early attempt to define counseling, the Society of Counseling Psychology, which is Division 17 of the American Psychological Association, described counseling as a process of “helping individuals toward overcoming obstacles to personal growth, wherever these may be encountered, and toward achieving optimum development of personal resources.” Generally speaking, counseling represents a set of problem-solving actions—developing a working relationship, assessing the problem, initiating behavior change, maintaining change, and evaluating the outcomes.

The treatment and prevention of diseases of the mouth and teeth; with medicine and nursing, one of the major health professions.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders is the world’s largest independent medical relief organization.

From the Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
The study of the patterning and determinants of the incidence and distribution of disease.

The application of genetic engineering techniques to alter or replace a defective gene or genes inside the body's cells; intended to treat or prevent disease. The procedures are still at the experimental stage, but it is hoped that they could lead to the prevention of hereditary diseases such as haemophilia.

A holistic form of medicine which aims to help the body to heal itself by administering very small doses of substances which in larger doses would produce the relevant symptoms in a healthy person; it is based on the theory that 'like cures like'.

Securing adequate food supplies and necessary nutrition is a global concern. The production, distribution, and consumption of food are matters that concern governments, corporations, and individuals everywhere. As a profession, study of the materials that nourish an organism and of the manner in which the separate components are used for maintenance, repair, growth, and reproduction.

Branch of medicine that studies the response of organisms to foreign substances, e.g., viruses, bacteria, and bacterial toxins.

The science and art of treating and preventing disease. Modern medicine emerged in the nineteenth century, when the development of the germ theory of disease, the discovery of anesthesia to control the pain of surgery, and improved sanitation began to curb the horrors of infectious diseases.

Well-being and soundness of mind, not only in terms of intellectual abilities, but also in terms of the capability to deal with everyday problems, and the capacity to get on well with other people and to form and sustain relationships.

Science of providing continuous care for sick or infirm people. Nurses are the largest single group of staff working in the health service.

Osteopathy is a system of medicine that is distinct in a philosophical approach to patient care in health and in sickness.

A branch of medical science which studies the actions, uses, and undesirable side-effects of drugs; science and practice of developing and administering chemicals as agents in the treatment of diseases. The first descriptions of remedies from plant sources were made by the ancient Greeks and Chinese.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
The art of compounding and dispensing drugs and medication.

In its broadest sense, the study of all pharmacological agents that affect mental and emotional functions. The term is usually applied more specifically to the study and synthesis of drugs used in the control of psychiatric illnesses, namely the antipsychotic, antianxiety, antidepressant, and antimanic medications.

Physical therapy (PT) is a health profession serving persons of any age or health status with compromised physical functioning or the desire to improve their current physical functioning. This medical field helps patients recover from, and adapt to, disease and injury.

Field of medicine and hygiene dealing with the prevention of disease and the promotion of health by government agencies.

Study of viruses and their role in disease.

From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) are licensed registered nurses with additional master's or doctorate level training in CNS. These advanced practice nurses are clinical experts in theory-based or research-based nursing, focusing on specific specialty areas.

The Columbia Encyclopedia
The art of assisting at childbirth.

From The Gale encyclopedia of nursing and Allied Health
Nurse anesthetists, or certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), are advanced practice registered nurses with specialized graduate level education, training, and certification in anesthesiology.

From Encyclopedia of Women's Health Broadly defined, an NP is an advanced practice registered nurse who has attained a formal NP education, primarily at the master's degree level.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Health-care professional who provides patient services ranging from taking medical histories and doing physical examinations to performing minor surgical procedures

From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Registered nurses, or RNs, are health care professionals who work as part of health care teams to promote health and prevent and treat disease.

Medical specialty dealing with anesthesia and related matters, including resuscitation and pain. Loss of sensation, especially that of pain, induced by drugs, especially as a means of facilitating safe surgical procedures.

Any of a variety of substances, usually obtained from microorganisms, that inhibit the growth of or destroy certain other microorganisms.

Clinic, name for an institution providing medical diagnosis and treatment for ambulatory patients.

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
A health professional, such as a physician, psychologist, or nurse, who is directly involved in patient care, as distinguished from one who does only research or administrative work.

In chemistry, transfer of solute (dissolved solids) across a semipermeable membrane. In medicine, artificial kidney machines have been developed that make use of dialysis to purify the blood of persons whose kidneys have ceased to function.

An institution in which certain kinds of illness are investigated and treated. The first documented hospital was Chinese, in 491. In the European Middle Ages the well-to-do were all treated at home, while the sick poor were cared for in a hospital attached to the local poor house. Hospitals are the centerpiece of U.S. healthcare and are multipurpose healthcare institutions. They provide a place for physicians and other clinicians to treat patients, for special diagnostic and treatment services, and for emergency care services.

In medicine, the transfer of a tissue or organ from one human being to another or from one part of the body to another (skin grafting).

Branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and the excision and repair of pathological conditions by means of operative procedures.