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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  White in 1989

  
  Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnosis of AIDS.
  
  As a hemophiliac, White became infected with HIV from a contaminated factor VIII blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Doctors said he posed no risk to other students, as AIDS is not an airborne disease and spreads solely through bodily fluids, but AIDS was poorly understood by the general public at the time. When White tried to return to school, irate parents and teachers in Howard County rallied against his attendance due to unwarranted concerns of the disease spreading to other students and staff. A lengthy administrative appeal process ensued, and news of the conflict turned White into a popular celebrity and advocate for AIDS research and public education. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted. He died on April 8, 1990, one month before his high school graduation. (Full article...)
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  Cartoon in Punch, November 1858

  
  In 1858 a batch of sweets in Bradford, England, was accidentally adulterated with poisonous arsenic 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 of arsenic poisoning.
  
  The adulteration of food had been practised in Britain since before the Middle Ages, but from 1800, with increasing urbanisation 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 purchase powdered gypsum, but a mistake at the wholesale chemist meant arsenic was purchased instead. (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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  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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  Georges Gilles de la Tourette (1857–1904),
  namesake of Tourette syndrome

  
  Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. These are typically preceded by an unwanted urge or sensation in the affected muscles known as a premonitory urge, can sometimes be suppressed temporarily, and characteristically change in location, strength, and frequency. Tourette's is at the more severe end of a spectrum of tic disorders. The tics often go unnoticed by casual observers.
  
  Tourette's was once regarded as a rare and bizarre syndrome and has popularly been associated with coprolalia (the utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks). It is no longer considered rare; about 1% of school-age children and adolescents are estimated to have Tourette's, though coprolalia occurs only in a minority. There are no specific tests for diagnosing Tourette's; it is not always correctly identified, because most cases are mild, and the severity of tics decreases for most children as they pass through adolescence. Therefore, many go undiagnosed or may never seek medical attention. Extreme Tourette's in adulthood, though sensationalized in the media, is rare, but for a small minority, severely debilitating tics can persist into adulthood. Tourette's does not affect intelligence or life expectancy. (Full article...)
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  Golding Bird, 1840

  
  Golding Bird (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits in 1844. He was also notable for his work in related sciences, especially the medical uses of electricity and electrochemistry. From 1836, he lectured at Guy's Hospital, a well-known teaching hospital in London and now part of King's College London, and published a popular textbook on science for medical students called Elements of Natural Philosophy.
  
  Having developed an interest in chemistry while still a child, largely through self-study, Bird was far enough advanced to deliver lectures to his fellow pupils at school. He later applied this knowledge to medicine and did much research on the chemistry of urine and of kidney stones. In 1842, he was the first to describe oxaluria, a condition which leads to the formation of a particular kind of stone. (Full article...)
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  Microscopic image of a Lewy body (arrowhead) in a neuron of the substantia nigra; scale bar=20 microns (0.02 mm)

  
  Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a type of dementia characterized by changes in sleep, behavior, cognition, movement, and regulation of automatic bodily functions. Memory loss is not always an early symptom. The disease worsens over time and is usually diagnosed when cognitive impairment interferes with normal daily functioning. Together with Parkinson's disease dementia, DLB is one of the two Lewy body dementias. It is a common form of dementia, but the prevalence is not known accurately and many diagnoses are missed. The disease was first described on autopsy by Kenji Kosaka in 1976, and he named the condition several years later.
  
  REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)—in which people lose the muscle paralysis (atonia) that normally occurs during REM sleep and act out their dreams—is a core feature. RBD may appear years or decades before other symptoms. Other core features are visual hallucinations, marked fluctuations in attention or alertness, and parkinsonism (slowness of movement, trouble walking, or rigidity). A presumptive diagnosis can be made if several disease features or biomarkers are present; the diagnostic workup may include blood tests, neuropsychological tests, imaging, and sleep studies. A definitive diagnosis usually requires an autopsy. (Full article...)
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  Scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli rods

  
  Bacteria (/bækˈtɪəriə/ ; sg.: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit the air, soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria play a vital role in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients and the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the decomposition of dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in mutualistic, commensal and parasitic relationships with plants and animals. Most bacteria have not been characterised and there are many species that cannot be grown in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch of microbiology.
  
  Like all animals, humans carry vast numbers (approximately 10¹³ to 10¹⁴) of bacteria. Most are in the gut, though there are many on the skin. Most of the bacteria in and on the body are harmless or rendered so by the protective effects of the immune system, and many are beneficial, particularly the ones in the gut. However, several species of bacteria are pathogenic and cause infectious diseases, including cholera, syphilis, anthrax, leprosy, tuberculosis, tetanus and bubonic plague. The most common fatal bacterial diseases are respiratory infections. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and are also used in farming, making antibiotic resistance a growing problem. Bacteria are important in sewage treatment and the breakdown of oil spills, the production of cheese and yogurt through fermentation, the recovery of gold, palladium, copper and other metals in the mining sector (biomining, bioleaching), as well as in biotechnology, and the manufacture of antibiotics and other chemicals. (Full article...)
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  CT scan of the brain showing subarachnoid hemorrhage as a white area in the center (marked by the arrow) and stretching into the sulci to either side

  
  Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of consciousness, fever, weakness, numbness, and sometimes seizures. Neck stiffness or neck pain are also relatively common. In about a quarter of people a small bleed with resolving symptoms occurs within a month of a larger bleed.
  
  
  SAH may occur as a result of a head injury or spontaneously, usually from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Risk factors for spontaneous cases include high blood pressure, smoking, family history, alcoholism, and cocaine use. Generally, the diagnosis can be determined by a CT scan of the head if done within six hours of symptom onset. Occasionally, a lumbar puncture is also required. After confirmation further tests are usually performed to determine the underlying cause. (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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  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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  Hirudo medicinalis sucking blood

  
  Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid; the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels.
  
  The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. (Full article...)
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  Photomicrograph of Giemsa-stained Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes in human blood

  
  Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily Triatominae, known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the course of the infection. In the early stage, symptoms are typically either not present or mild, and may include fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, or swelling at the site of the bite. After four to eight weeks, untreated individuals enter the chronic phase of disease, which in most cases does not result in further symptoms. Up to 45% of people with chronic infections develop heart disease 10–30 years after the initial illness, which can lead to heart failure. Digestive complications, including an enlarged esophagus or an enlarged colon, may also occur in up to 21% of people, and up to 10% of people may experience nerve damage.
  T. cruzi is commonly spread to humans and other mammals by the kissing bug's bite wound and the bug's infected feces. The disease may also be spread through blood transfusion, organ transplantation, consuming food or drink contaminated with the parasites, and vertical transmission (from a mother to her baby). Diagnosis of early disease is by finding the parasite in the blood using a microscope or detecting its DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Chronic disease is diagnosed by finding antibodies for T. cruzi in the blood. (Full article...)
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  Diagram showing the position of the pancreas, behind the stomach (which is transparent in this schematic).

  
  Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancreatic cancer are known.
  
  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. These adenocarcinomas start within the part of the pancreas that makes digestive enzymes. Several other types of cancer, which collectively represent the majority of the non-adenocarcinomas, can also arise from these cells. (Full article...)

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  Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a private medical university in Pomona, California. With an enrollment of 3,724 students (2022–23), WesternU offers more than twenty academic programs in multiple colleges. It also operates an additional campus in Lebanon, Oregon.
  
  Under the banner of WesternU Health, the university operates a variety of patient care facilities in California and Oregon. The Pomona and Lebanon (Oregon) campuses both include a medical center, dental center, eye care institute, pharmacy, and travel health center. WesternU-Pomona also is home to the Pet Health Center, which provides veterinary services. Dental services are offered at the Rancho Mirage campus, while a Los Angeles campus provides optometry services. (Full article...)
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  Reconstruction of the trachea and bronchi with x-ray computed tomography showing disruption of the right main bronchus with abnormal lucency (arrow)

  
  Tracheobronchial injury is damage to the tracheobronchial tree (the airway structure involving the trachea and bronchi). It can result from blunt or penetrating trauma to the neck or chest, inhalation of harmful fumes or smoke, or aspiration of liquids or objects.
  
  
  Though rare, TBI is a serious condition; it may cause obstruction of the airway with resulting life-threatening respiratory insufficiency. Other injuries accompany TBI in about half of cases. Of those people with TBI who die, most do so before receiving emergency care, either from airway obstruction, exsanguination, or from injuries to other vital organs. Of those who do reach a hospital, the mortality rate may be as high as 30%. (Full article...)
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  Rapid strep test kit

  
  The rapid strep test (RST) is a rapid antigen detection test (RADT) that is widely used in clinics to assist in the diagnosis of bacterial pharyngitis caused by group A streptococci (GAS), sometimes termed strep throat. There are currently several types of rapid strep test in use, each employing a distinct technology. However, they all work by detecting the presence of GAS in the throat of a person by responding to GAS-specific antigens on a throat swab. (Full article...)
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  Alexander Duncan Langmuir (/ˈlæŋmjʊər/; September 12, 1910 – November 22, 1993) was an American epidemiologist who served as Chief Epidemiologist of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1949 to 1970, developing the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) as a training program for epidemiologists.
  
  During his tenure, Langmuir broadened the CDC's scope to include the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases, environmental health, and family planning. Additionally, Langmuir increased coordination between the CDC and state and territorial epidemiologists. (Full article...)
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  Carbon monoxide

  
  Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large exposures can result in loss of consciousness, arrhythmias, seizures, or death. The classically described "cherry red skin" rarely occurs. Long-term complications may include chronic fatigue, trouble with memory, and movement problems.
  
  
  CO is a colorless and odorless gas which is initially non-irritating. It is produced during incomplete burning of organic matter. This can occur from motor vehicles, heaters, or cooking equipment that run on carbon-based fuels. Carbon monoxide primarily causes adverse effects by combining with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin (symbol COHb or HbCO) preventing the blood from carrying oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide as carbaminohemoglobin. Additionally, many other hemoproteins such as myoglobin, Cytochrome P450, and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase are affected, along with other metallic and non-metallic cellular targets. (Full article...)
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  Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), an organic compound that does not occur in nature, was first synthesised in 1899.
  
  In 1897, scientists at the drug and dye firm Bayer began investigating acetylated organic compounds as possible new medicines, following the success of acetanilide ten years earlier. Two years later, Bayer created acetylsalicylic acid, which they marketed around the world under the brand name "Aspirin". The drug was sold widely in the first half of the twentieth century, both by Bayer and by competing drug manufacturers. The name "aspirin" was so widely used that Bayer lost (or sold) the rights to the trademark in many countries. (Full article...)
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  Nadar, the photographer

  
  Hermaphrodite is a series of photographs of a young intersex person, who had a male build and stature and may have been assigned female or self-identified as female, taken by the French photographer Nadar (real name Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) in 1860. Possibly commissioned by Armand Trousseau, the nine photographs have been described as "probably the first medical photo-illustrations of a patient with intersex genitalia". They were originally restricted for scientific uses, and Nadar did not publish them. Further photographs of intersex subjects followed over the next several decades, although there is no evidence that the photographers knew of Nadar's work. (Full article...)
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  Ibrahim Khalil "Abe" Mickal (June 15, 1913 – September 20, 2001) was a Lebanese-American college football player and a doctor. He played as a halfback for the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University, where he was notable for his passing skills and play-making ability, which earned him the nickname "Miracle Mickal". He was also the team's primary punter and placekicker. A three-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, Mickal led LSU to an undefeated season in 1933 and a conference championship and Sugar Bowl in 1935. In 1936, Mickal played quarterback for a college all-star team that was the first team of college players to defeat a professional team. Although selected in the 1936 NFL draft, he did not play professionally. Mickal was a charter member of the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1937 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
  
  In addition to football, Mickal was a cadet in LSU's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), was a member of the pre-med club and debate team, and as a senior was president of the university's student body. While a student, he was offered a seat in the Louisiana State Senate by U.S. Senator and noted LSU supporter Huey Long, which he declined. He earned his medical degree in 1940, and after serving in World War II began a lifelong career in obstetrics and gynecology. He served as head professor of the LSU Medical School OB/GYN department for over twenty years. Actively involved in various university affairs during and after his time as a student, Mickal was honored as LSU's "Alumnus of the Year" in 1980. (Full article...)
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  An Operation at the Military Hospital, Endell Street - Dr L Garrett, Dr Flora Murray, Dr W Buckley, Francis Dodd, 1920. Imperial War Museum, London.

  
  Endell Street Military Hospital was a First World War military hospital located on Endell Street in Covent Garden, central London. The hospital was substantially staffed by suffragists (women who supported the introduction of votes for women).
  
  The medical pioneers Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson recruited enough medically trained women to staff an entire hospital in France at the beginning of the war that was in operation from 1914 to 1915. Drawing experience and staff of this hospital, the Endell Street hospital was established in London as a RAMC hospital under the War department in May 1915 by Murray and Anderson. The Endell hospital had 573 beds, allowing for some 26,000 patients to be cared for during the five years it was active. The hospital closed shortly after the end of the war in December 1919. (Full article...)
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  3D CT of an impacted wisdom tooth adjacent the inferior alveolar nerve prior to removal of wisdom tooth

  
  Impacted wisdom teeth is a condition where the third molars (wisdom teeth) are prevented from erupting into the mouth. This can be caused by a physical barrier, such as other teeth, or when the tooth is angled away from a vertical position. Completely unerupted wisdom teeth usually result in no symptoms, although they can sometimes develop cysts or neoplasms. Partially erupted wisdom teeth or wisdom teeth that are not erupted but are exposed to oral bacteria through deep periodontal pocket, can develop cavities or pericoronitis. Removal of impacted wisdom teeth is advised for the future prevention of or in the current presence of certain pathologies, such as caries (dental decay), periodontal disease or cysts. Prophylactic (preventative) extraction of wisdom teeth is preferred to be done at a younger age (middle to late teenage years) to take advantage of incomplete root development, which is associated with an easier surgical procedure and less probability of complications.
  
  
  Impacted wisdom teeth are classified by their direction of impaction, their depth compared to the biting surface of adjacent teeth and the amount of the tooth's crown that extends through gum tissue or bone. Impacted wisdom teeth can also be classified by the presence or absence of symptoms and disease. Screening for the presence of wisdom teeth often begins in late adolescence when a partially developed tooth may become impacted. Screening commonly includes a clinical examination as well as x-rays such as panoramic radiographs. (Full article...)
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  This condition affects the QT interval (in blue).

  
  Andersen–Tawil syndrome, also called Andersen syndrome and long QT syndrome 7, is a rare genetic disorder affecting several parts of the body. The three predominant features of Andersen–Tawil syndrome include disturbances of the electrical function of the heart characterised by an abnormality seen on an electrocardiogram (a long QT interval) and a tendency to abnormal heart rhythms, physical characteristics including low-set ears and a small lower jaw, and intermittent periods of muscle weakness known as hypokalaemic periodic paralysis.
  
  Andersen–Tawil syndrome is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. It is caused in most cases by a mutation in the KCNJ2 gene which encodes an ion channel that transports potassium out of cardiac muscle cells. The arrhythmias seen in the condition can be treated with flecainide or beta-blockers, but an implantable defibrillator may sometimes be required. Periodic paralysis can be treated with carbonic anhydrase inhibitors such as acetazolamide. The condition is very rare and is estimated to affect one person in every million. The three groups of features seen in this condition were first described in 1971 by Ellen Andersen, and significant contributions to its understanding were made by Rabi Tawil. (Full article...)
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  Biotin (also known as vitamin B₇ or vitamin H) is one of the B vitamins. It is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes, both in humans and in other organisms, primarily related to the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids. The name biotin, borrowed from the German Biotin, derives from the Ancient Greek word βίοτος (bíotos; 'life') and the suffix "-in" (a suffix used in chemistry usually to indicate 'forming'). Biotin appears as a white, needle-like crystalline solid. (Full article...)
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  Eugene W. Caldwell (1870–1918) was an American engineer, radiographer, and physician who conducted early work on the medical uses of X-rays. A native of Missouri, Caldwell studied engineering at the University of Kansas. After working as an engineer for five years, Caldwell became interested in X-rays in 1897, opening what may have been the first X-ray clinic in New York City. He taught radiography at University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College and later graduated with a medical degree from that institution.
  
  Caldwell was president of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) in 1907, invented the first portable X-ray machine for use at a patient's bedside, and devised a positioning technique known as Caldwell's view that allowed for X-ray visualization of the sinuses. He also enhanced X-ray technology to reduce the exposure time required to obtain an image, created a stereoscopic device for X-rays so that they could show depth, and modified an existing stereoscopic fluoroscope for wartime use. (Full article...)
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  The human heart

  
  The heart is a muscular organ found in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. Heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissue, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to the lungs. In humans, the heart is approximately the size of a closed fist and is located between the lungs, in the middle compartment of the chest, called the mediastinum.
  
  
  In humans, other mammals, and birds, the heart is divided into four chambers: upper left and right atria and lower left and right ventricles. Commonly, the right atrium and ventricle are referred together as the right heart and their left counterparts as the left heart. Fish, in contrast, have two chambers, an atrium and a ventricle, while most reptiles have three chambers. In a healthy heart, blood flows one way through the heart due to heart valves, which prevent backflow. The heart is enclosed in a protective sac, the pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. The wall of the heart is made up of three layers: epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium. In all vertebrates, the heart has an asymmetric orientation, almost always on the left side. According to one theory, this is caused by a developmental axial twist in the early embryo. (Full article...)
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  The 1971 Iraq poison grain disaster was a mass methylmercury poisoning incident that began in late 1971. Seed grain treated with a methylmercury fungicide and never intended for human consumption was imported into Iraq from Mexico and the United States. Due to a number of factors, including foreign-language labelling and distribution too late in the growing cycle to be planted, this toxic grain was consumed as food by Iraqi residents in rural areas. People suffered from paresthesia (numbness of skin), ataxia (lack of coordination of muscle movements) and vision loss, symptoms similar to those seen when Minamata disease affected Japan. The recorded death toll was 459 people, but figures at least ten times greater have been suggested. The 1971 poisoning was the largest mercury poisoning disaster when it occurred, with cases peaking in January and February 1972 and stopping by the end of March.
  
  Reports after the disaster recommended tighter regulation, better labelling and handling of mercury-treated grain, and wider involvement of the World Health Organization in monitoring and preventing poisoning incidents. Investigation confirmed the particular danger posed to fetuses and young children. (Full article...)

Did you know –

• ... that mythomania is a condition involving compulsive lying by a person with no obvious motivation?

• ... that a jet injector is a type of medical injecting syringe that uses a high-pressure narrow jet of the injection liquid instead of a hypodermic needle to penetrate the epidermis?
• ... that an iridectomy is the surgical removal of part of the iris, most frequently performed in the treatment of closed-angle glaucoma and iris melanoma?

General images –

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

• 
  Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926), the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Primary care may be provided in community health centers. (from Health care)
• 
  "Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Mandrake (written 'ΜΑΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΑ' in Greek capitals). Naples Dioscurides, 7th century (from History of medicine)
• 
  18th-century medical remedies collected by a British Gentry family (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)
• 
  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)
• 
  National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, United Kingdom is a specialist neurological hospital. (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)
• 
  Zhang Zhongjing – a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty. (from History of medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  Replica of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope of the 1670s (from History of medicine)
• 
  Guy's Hospital in 1820 (from History of medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  Statue of Robert Koch, father of medical bacteriology, at Robert-Koch-Platz (Robert Koch square) in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  Hospital train "Therapist Matvei Mudrov" in Khabarovsk, Russia (from Health care)
• 
  A 12th-century Byzantine manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath (from Medical ethics)
• 
  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)
• 
  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)
• 
  "More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette" advertisement for Camel cigarettes in the 1940s (from Medical ethics)
• 
  healthcare expenditure in Japan by age group (from Health insurance)
• 
  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)
• 
  Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (from Medical ethics)
• 
  The emergency room is often a frontline venue for the delivery of primary medical care. (from Health care)
• 
  Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (from Medical billing)
• 
  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)
• 
  American combat surgery during the Pacific War, 1943 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Yarrow, a medicinal plant found in human-occupied caves in the Upper Palaeolithic period. (from History of medicine)
• 
  American Civil War hospital at Gettysburg, 1863 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Galen (129–216 CE), known for his wide insights into anatomy. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A Ukrainian monument to the HIV pandemic. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A cuneiform terracotta tablet describing a medicinal recipe for poisoning (c. 18th century BCE). Discovered in Nippur, Iraq.
• 
  A Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet fragment describing medical text (c. 9th to 7th century BCE). (from History of medicine)
• 
  Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE). Known as the "father of medicine". (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)
• 
  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)
• 
  A cochlear implant is a common kind of neural prosthesis, a device replacing part of the human nervous system. (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)
• 
  Magical stela or cippus of Horus inscribed with healing encantations (c. 332 to 280 BCE). (from History of medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  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)
• 
  Medicine during the First World War - Medical Transport. (from History of medicine)
• 
  AMA Code of Medical Ethics (from Medical ethics)
• 
  A doctor checks a patient's pulse in Meiji-era Japan. (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)
• 
  Curandera performing a limpieza in Cuenca, Ecuador (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  An American billing clerk preparing a detailed invoice. (1992) (from Medical billing)
• 
  Mexico City epidemic of 1737, with elites calling on the Virgin of Guadalupe (from History of medicine)
• 
  Traditional medicine in a market in Antananarivo, Madagascar (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  Life Expectancy of the total population at birth among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  Sketch of Muslim physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (from History of medicine)
• 
  Ethical prayer for medical wisdom by Dr Edmond Fernandes (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Louis Pasteur experimenting on bacteria, c. 1870 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Charite in Berlin (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)
• 
  Sometimes traditional medicines include parts of endangered species, such as the slow loris in Southeast Asia. (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  Life expectancy vs healthcare spending of rich OECD countries. US average of $10,447 in 2018. (from Health care)

More Did you know (auto generated)

• ... that Constance Fozzard was told during her surgical training that women with children could not become consultants?
• ... that the Noongar used the Eucalyptus wandoo tree as a medicine and ointment?
• ... that Margaret C. Roberts was encouraged to study medicine by LDS Church leader Brigham Young to reduce mortality rates during childbirth?
• ... that Tang Zonghai was one of the first advocates for the integration of Chinese and Western medicine?
• ... that the Anglo-Saxons may have used a mixture of garlic, another Allium, wine, and bovine bile as an eye medicine?
• ... that a lack of screening for pregnant women with syphilis in sub-Saharan Africa is associated with increased infant mortality?

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