Portal:Medicine

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Medicine Portal

Marble statue of Asclephius on a pedestal, symbol of medicine in Western medicine

Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient and managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment or palliation of their injury or disease. 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, during most of which it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge) 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). While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.

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

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article – show another

Smallpox is an acute infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera; a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple". The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe in the 15th century to distinguish variola from the great pox (syphilis).

Smallpox localizes in small blood vessels of the skin and in the mouth and throat. In the skin, this results in the characteristic maculopapular rash, which evolves into raised vesicles, then into fluid-filled pustules. V. major produces a more serious disease and has an overall mortality rate of 30–35%. V. minor (also known as alastrim, cottonpox, milkpox, whitepox, and Cuban itch) causes a milder form of disease which kills ~1% of its victims.

(More...)

More selected articles

Selected image – show another

The cardiovascular system and principal organs of a woman (c. 1507) is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci.

Photo credit: Public domain

More selected pictures

WikiProject

Get involved by joining WikiProject Medicine. We discuss collaborations and all manner of issues on our talk page.

Related portals

Did you know...? – show different entries

... that lagophthalmos is the inability to close the eyelids?

... that Beck's triad of arterial hypotension, raised jugular venous pressure and muffled heart sounds is pathognomonic of cardiac tamponade?
... that dark chocolate contains the highest antioxidant content of any food? It contains phosphorus, magnesium, iron and potassium. In addition, dark chocolate can lower blood pressure.

Did you know archive

General images – load new batch

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

Image 1Health Expenditure per capita (in PPP-adjusted US$) among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
Image 2Primary care may be provided in community health centers. (from Health care)
Image 3Monumental stone relief of a fish-garbed figure from the Temple of Ninurta in the Assyrian city of Kalhu, believed by some experts to be a representation of an āšipu, or exorcist-priest, who functioned as a kind of healer and primitive doctor (from History of medicine)
Image 4The 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)
Image 5Sometimes traditional medicines include parts of endangered species, such as the slow loris in Southeast Asia. (from Traditional medicine)
Image 6Ayurvedic herbal medicines (from History of medicine)
Image 7The 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)
Image 8Medical recipe concerning poisoning. Terracotta tablet, from Nippur, Iraq, 18th century BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul (from History of medicine)
Image 9Life Expectancy of the total population at birth from 2000 until 2011 among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
Image 10American combat surgery during the Pacific War, 1943. Major wars showed the need for effective hygiene and medical treatment. (from History of medicine)
Image 11Global concentrations of healthcare resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. (from Health care)
Image 12The emergency room is often a frontline venue for the delivery of primary medical care. (from Health care)
Image 13Mexico City epidemic of 1737, with elites calling on the Virgin of Guadalupe (from History of medicine)
Image 14Florence Nightingale triggered the professionalization of nursing. Photograph c. 1860 (from History of medicine)
Image 15Traditional medicine in a market in Antananarivo, Madagascar (from Traditional medicine)
Image 16AMA Code of Medical Ethics (from Medical ethics)
Image 17The 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)
Image 18The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, United Kingdom is a specialist neurological hospital. (from Health care)
Image 19The numbers of Americans lacking health insurance and the uninsured rate from 1987 to 2008 (from Health insurance)
Image 20American Civil War hospital at Gettysburg, 1863 (from History of medicine)
Image 21Guy's Hospital in 1820 (from History of medicine)
Image 22Curandera performing a limpieza in Cuenca, Ecuador (from Traditional medicine)
Image 23Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (from Medical billing)
Image 24World map of universal healthcare.

Countries with free and universal health care
(from Health insurance)
Image 25Most 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)
Image 26Replica of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope of the 1670s (from History of medicine)
Image 27Louis Pasteur experimenting on bacteria, c. 1870 (from History of medicine)
Image 28A 12th-century Byzantine manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath (from Medical ethics)
Image 29Mandrake (written 'ΜΑΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΑ' in Greek capitals). Naples Dioscurides, 7th century (from History of medicine)
Image 30Botánicas 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)
Image 31"Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale. (from History of medicine)
Image 32A cochlear implant is a common kind of neural prosthesis, a device replacing part of the human nervous system. (from History of medicine)
Image 3318th-century medical remedies collected by a British Gentry family (from History of medicine)
Image 34Smallpox vaccination in Niger, 1969. A decade later, this was the first infectious disease to be eradicated. (from History of medicine)
Image 35healthcare expenditure in Japan by age group (from Health insurance)
Image 36Hospital train "Therapist Matvei Mudrov" in Khabarovsk, Russia (from Health care)
Image 37The Hippocratic Corpus
A collection of early medical works may be associated with Hippocrates (from History of medicine)
Image 38Depiction 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)
Image 39The oldest Polish Collegium Medicum at Jagiellonian University founded in 1364 (from History of medicine)
Image 40Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (from Medical ethics)
Image 41Assorted dried plant and animal parts used in traditional Chinese medicines, clockwise from top left corner: dried Lingzhi (lit. "spirit mushrooms"), ginseng, Luo Han Guo, turtle shell underbelly (plastron), and dried curled snakes (from History of medicine)
Image 42Andreas Vesalius's 1543 De humani corporis fabrica contained intricately detailed drawings of human dissections, often in allegorical poses. (from History of medicine)
Image 43Patient, 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)

Topics

Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Medicine}}) or categorized correctly. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

Featured articles

Good articles

Featured pictures

"Capt. Della H. Raney, Army Nurse Corps, who now heads the nursing staff at the station hospital at Camp Beale, CA - NARA - 535942
Agarplate redbloodcells edit
Albert Edelfelt - Louis Pasteur - 1885
Aletta Jacobs, 1895-1905
AntigenicShift HiRes
Autorecessive
Basal ganglia circuits
Beulah Ream Allen receiving the Medal of Freedom (1945)
Blood values sorted by mass and molar concentration
Brigid M. Balfour (1914-1994) - Restoration
CG Heart
CH.SZ.Stoos Fronalpstock Sequence Rescue-Helicopter REGA 16K 16x9-R
Cesarian the moment of birth3
Child with Smallpox Bangladesh
Circulatory System en
Complete neuron cell diagram en
Computed tomography of human brain - large
DNA Structure+Key+Labelled.pn NoBB
DTI-sagittal-fibers
Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour
Denis Mukwege par Claude Truong-Ngoc novembre 2014
Desinsertion du muscle CO
Ebola Virus - Electron Micrograph
Eye Central Heterochromia crop and lighter
Eye-diagram no circles border
Gas mask MUA IMGP0157
Human arm bones diagram
June odd-eyed-cat cropped
Male human head louse
Mantoux tuberculin skin test
Nadar - "Hermaphrodite" (Seventh Gallica image)
Neutrophil with anthrax copy
Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
Osmotic pressure on blood cells diagram
PET-MIPS-anim
Pauline Gracia Beery Mack (1891-1974) (5493947511) - Restoration
Phage
Polydactyly 01 Lhand AP
Professeur Metchnikoff, portrait du scientifique dans un laboratoire de recherche
Rembrandt - The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
Respiratory system complete en
Root Canal Illustration Molar
SARS-CoV-2 scanning electron microscope image
Sneeze.JPG
Steroidogenesis
Synthetic Production of Penicillin TR1468
Tubal Pregnancy with embryo
Typhoid inoculation2
User-FastFission-brain
Volume rendered CT scan of a pregnancy of 37 weeks of gestational age (smaller)
Wormian bones