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 a patient, 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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  A man with a wasted right leg due to poliomyelitis

  
  Poliomyelitis (/ˌpoʊlioʊˌmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/ POH-lee-oh-MY-ə-LY-tiss), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe symptoms develop such as headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia. These symptoms usually pass within one or two weeks. A less common symptom is permanent paralysis, and possible death in extreme cases. Years after recovery, post-polio syndrome may occur, with a slow development of muscle weakness similar to that which the person had during the initial infection.
  
  
  Polio occurs naturally only in humans. It is highly infectious, and is spread from person to person either through fecal–oral transmission (e.g. poor hygiene, or by ingestion of food or water contaminated by human feces), or via the oral–oral route. Those who are infected may spread the disease for up to six weeks even if no symptoms are present. The disease may be diagnosed by finding the virus in the feces or detecting antibodies against it in the blood. (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 which 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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  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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  Portrait by Julian Smith, 1930s

  
  Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey, OM FRS FRCP (/ˈflɔːri/; 24 September 1898 – 21 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role in the development of penicillin.
  
  Although Fleming received most of the credit for the discovery of penicillin, it was Florey and his team at the University of Oxford who made it into a useful and effective drug, ten years after Fleming had abandoned its development. They developed techniques for growing, purifying and manufacturing the drug, tested it for toxicity and efficacy on animals, and carried out the first clinical trials. In 1941, they used it to treat a police constable from Oxford. He started to recover, but subsequently died because Florey was unable, at that time, to make enough penicillin. Later trials in Britain, the United States and North Africa were highly successful. (Full article...)
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  Fluoridation does not affect the appearance, taste or smell of drinking water.

  
  
  Water fluoridation is the controlled adjustment of fluoride to a public water supply solely 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. 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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  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 by Kenji Kosaka in 1976.
  
  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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  Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate), an 1890 portrait by Vincent van Gogh

  
  Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introduced by a group of US clinicians in the mid-1970s, the term was adopted by the American Psychiatric Association for this symptom cluster under mood disorders in the 1980 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), and has become widely used since.
  
  The diagnosis of major depressive disorder is based on the person's reported experiences, behavior reported by relatives or friends, and a mental status examination. There is no laboratory test for the disorder, but testing may be done to rule out physical conditions that can cause similar symptoms. The most common time of onset is in a person's 20s, with females affected about twice as often as males. The course of the disorder varies widely, from one episode lasting months to a lifelong disorder with recurrent major depressive episodes. (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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  Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms. It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar working in the 19th century in Brno, was the first to study genetics scientifically. Mendel studied "trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring over time. He observed that organisms (pea plants) inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene.
  
  Trait inheritance and molecular inheritance mechanisms of genes are still primary principles of genetics in the 21st century, but modern genetics has expanded to study the function and behavior of genes. Gene structure and function, variation, and distribution are studied within the context of the cell, the organism (e.g. dominance), and within the context of a population. Genetics has given rise to a number of subfields, including molecular genetics, epigenetics and population genetics. Organisms studied within the broad field span the domains of life (archaea, bacteria, and eukarya). (Full article...)
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  Helium (from Greek: ἥλιος, romanized: helios, lit. 'sun') is a chemical element; it has symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is the lowest among all the elements, and it does not have a melting point at standard pressures. It is the second-lightest and second most abundant element in the observable universe, after hydrogen. It is present at about 24% of the total elemental mass, which is more than 12 times the mass of all the heavier elements combined. Its abundance is similar to this in both the Sun and Jupiter, because of the very high nuclear binding energy (per nucleon) of helium-4, with respect to the next three elements after helium. This helium-4 binding energy also accounts for why it is a product of both nuclear fusion and radioactive decay. The most common isotope of helium in the universe is helium-4, the vast majority of which was formed during the Big Bang. Large amounts of new helium are created by nuclear fusion of hydrogen in stars.
  
  Helium was first detected as an unknown, yellow spectral line signature in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868 by Georges Rayet, Captain C. T. Haig, Norman R. Pogson, and Lieutenant John Herschel, and was subsequently confirmed by French astronomer Jules Janssen. Janssen is often jointly credited with detecting the element, along with Norman Lockyer. Janssen recorded the helium spectral line during the solar eclipse of 1868, while Lockyer observed it from Britain. However, only Lockyer proposed that the line was due to a new element, which he named after the Sun. The formal discovery of the element was made in 1895 by chemists Sir William Ramsay, Per Teodor Cleve, and Nils Abraham Langlet, who found helium emanating from the uranium ore cleveite, which is now not regarded as a separate mineral species, but as a variety of uraninite. In 1903, large reserves of helium were found in natural gas fields in parts of the United States, by far the largest supplier of the gas today. (Full article...)
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  Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis occurs when the thyroid gland releases excessive amounts of thyroxine (thyroid hormone).

  
  Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a rare condition featuring attacks of muscle weakness in the presence of hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid gland). Hypokalemia (a decreased potassium level in the blood) is usually present during attacks. The condition may be life-threatening if weakness of the breathing muscles leads to respiratory failure, or if the low potassium levels lead to abnormal heart rhythms. If untreated, it is typically recurrent in nature.
  
  The condition has been linked with genetic mutations in genes that code for certain ion channels that transport electrolytes (sodium and potassium) across cell membranes. The main ones are the L-type calcium channel α1-subunit and potassium inward rectifier 2.6; it is therefore classified as a channelopathy. The abnormality in the channel is thought to lead to shifts of potassium into cells, under conditions of high thyroxine (thyroid hormone) levels, usually with an additional precipitant. (Full article...)
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  Electron micrograph of H. pylori possessing multiple flagella (negative staining)

  
  Helicobacter pylori, previously known as Campylobacter pylori, is a gram-negative, flagellated, helical bacterium. Mutants can have a rod or curved rod shape, and these are less effective. Its helical body (from which the genus name, Helicobacter, derives) is thought to have evolved in order to penetrate the mucous lining of the stomach, helped by its flagella, and thereby establish infection. The bacterium was first identified as the causal agent of gastric ulcers in 1983 by the Australian doctors Barry Marshall and Robin Warren.
  
  Infection of the stomach with H. pylori is not the cause of illness itself; over half of the global population is infected but most are asymptomatic. Persistent colonization with more virulent strains can induce a number of gastric and extragastric disorders. Gastric disorders due to infection begin with gastritis, inflammation of the stomach lining. When infection is persistent the prolonged inflammation will become chronic gastritis. Initially this will be non-atrophic gastritis, but damage caused to the stomach lining can bring about the change to atrophic gastritis, and the development of ulcers both within the stomach itself or in the duodenum, the nearest part of the intestine. At this stage the risk of developing gastric cancer is high. However, the development of a duodenal ulcer has a lower risk of cancer.Helicobacter pylori is a class 1 carcinogen, and potential cancers include gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas and gastric cancer. Infection with H. pylori is responsible for around 89 per cent of all gastric cancers, and is linked to the development of 5.5 per cent of all cases of cancer worldwide. H. pylori is the only bacterium known to cause cancer. (Full article...)
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  Everywhere at the End of Time is the eleventh recording by the Caretaker, an alias of English electronic musician Leyland Kirby. Released between 2016 and 2019, its six studio albums use degrading loops of sampled ballroom music to portray the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Inspired by the success of An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (2011), Kirby produced Everywhere as his final major work under the alias. The albums were produced in Kraków and released over six-month periods to "give a sense of time passing", with abstract album covers by his friend Ivan Seal. The series drew comparisons to the works of composer William Basinski and electronic musician Burial, while the later stages were influenced by avant-gardist composer John Cage.
  
  The series comprises six hours of music, portraying a range of emotions and characterised by noise throughout. Although the first three stages are similar to An Empty Bliss, the last three depart from Kirby's earlier ambient works. The albums reflect the patient's disorder and death, their feelings, and the phenomenon of terminal lucidity. To promote the series, anonymous visual artist Weirdcore created music videos for the first two stages. At first, concerned about whether the series would seem pretentious, Kirby thought of not creating Everywhere at all, and spent more time producing it than any of his other releases. The album covers received attention from a French art exhibition named after the Caretaker's Everywhere, an Empty Bliss (2019), a compilation of archived songs. (Full article...)
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  A CBC specimen in front of a printout displaying CBC and differential results

  
  A complete blood count (CBC), also known as a full blood count (FBC), is a set of medical laboratory tests that provide information about the cells in a person's blood. The CBC indicates the counts of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, the concentration of hemoglobin, and the hematocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells). The red blood cell indices, which indicate the average size and hemoglobin content of red blood cells, are also reported, and a white blood cell differential, which counts the different types of white blood cells, may be included.
  
  The CBC is often carried out as part of a medical assessment and can be used to monitor health or diagnose diseases. The results are interpreted by comparing them to reference ranges, which vary with sex and age. Conditions like anemia and thrombocytopenia are defined by abnormal complete blood count results. The red blood cell indices can provide information about the cause of a person's anemia such as iron deficiency and vitamin B12 deficiency, and the results of the white blood cell differential can help to diagnose viral, bacterial and parasitic infections and blood disorders like leukemia. Not all results falling outside of the reference range require medical intervention. (Full article...)
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  Biopsy of small bowel showing coeliac disease manifested by blunting of villi, crypt hypertrophy, 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...)

Selected image –

Factor Correspondence Analysis Comparing Different Individuals from European Ancestry Groups. The analysis was performed using 749 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) informative for European substructure (selected from a genome-wide panel of more than 5700 SNPs).

Photo credit: Seldin MF, Shigeta R, Villoslada P, Selmi C, Tuomilehto J, et al. (2006) European Population Substructure: Clustering of Northern and Southern Populations. PLoS Genet 2(9): e143 Fig. 4(b)

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  The mouth of a person with symptoms similar to those caused by long-term use of methamphetamine

  
  Meth mouth is a colloquial term used to describe severe tooth decay and tooth loss, as well as tooth fracture, acid erosion, and other oral problems that are often symptomatic to extended use of the drug methamphetamine. The condition is thought to be caused by a combination of side effects of the drug (clenching and grinding of teeth, dry mouth) and lifestyle factors (infrequent oral hygiene, frequent consumption of sugary drinks, as well as neglecting regular dental cleanings and preventive care), which may be present in long-term users. However, the legitimacy of meth mouth as a unique condition has been questioned because of the similar effects of some other drugs on teeth. Images of diseased mouths are often used in anti-drug campaigns.
  
  The condition is difficult to treat, and may involve fillings, fluoride to fight tooth decay and drugs that increase saliva for dry mouth, as well as oral hygiene instruction. It can be dangerous for active methamphetamine users to undergo
  dental surgery because of the cardiac problems that can result from the interaction of local anesthetic with the drug. (Full article...)
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  The steeple sign as seen on an AP neck X-ray of a child with croup

  
  Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms of "barking/brassy" cough, inspiratory stridor and a hoarse voice. Fever and runny nose may also be present. These symptoms may be mild, moderate, or severe. Often it starts or is worse at night and normally lasts one to two days.
  
  
  Croup can be caused by a number of viruses including parainfluenza and influenza virus. Rarely is it due to a bacterial infection. Croup is typically diagnosed based on signs and symptoms after potentially more severe causes, such as epiglottitis or an airway foreign body, have been ruled out. Further investigations, such as blood tests, X-rays and cultures, are usually not needed. (Full article...)
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  A titanium dental implant with a crown attached used for a single tooth replacement

  
  A dental implant (also known as an endosseous implant or fixture) is a prosthesis that interfaces with the bone of the jaw or skull to support a dental prosthesis such as a crown, bridge, denture, or facial prosthesis or to act as an orthodontic anchor. The basis for modern dental implants is a biological process called osseointegration, in which materials such as titanium or zirconia form an intimate bond to the bone. The implant fixture is first placed so that it is likely to osseointegrate, then a dental prosthetic is added. A variable amount of healing time is required for osseointegration before either the dental prosthetic (a tooth, bridge, or denture) is attached to the implant or an abutment is placed which will hold a dental prosthetic/crown.
  
  Success or failure of implants depends primarily on the thickness and health of the bone and gingival tissues that surround the implant, but also on the health of the person receiving the treatment and drugs which affect the chances of osseointegration. The amount of stress that will be put on the implant and fixture during normal function is also evaluated. Planning the position and number of implants is key to the long-term health of the prosthetic since biomechanical forces created during chewing can be significant. The position of implants is determined by the position and angle of adjacent teeth, by lab simulations or by using computed tomography with CAD/CAM simulations and surgical guides called stents. The prerequisites for long-term success of osseointegrated dental implants are healthy bone and gingiva. Since both can atrophy after tooth extraction, pre-prosthetic procedures such as sinus lifts or gingival grafts are sometimes required to recreate ideal bone and gingiva. (Full article...)
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  Robert White (1688 – 1752) was an early American physician, military officer, pioneer, and planter in the Colony of Virginia.
  
  White was born in Scotland, the son of John White, a physician practicing in Paisley, Renfrewshire. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and later served as a surgeon with the rank of captain in the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Great Britain. He relocated to the Thirteen Colonies between 1720 and 1730, first to Delaware, then Pennsylvania, and finally as a "pioneer settler" in present-day Frederick County, Virginia between 1732 and 1735. White was one of two physicians practicing in Frederick County, and conducted his practice from his residence near Great North Mountain. White was part of a larger wave of Scottish physicians who settled in Virginia prior to the American Revolutionary War. (Full article...)
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  Steroid 21-hydroxylase is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CYP21A2 gene. The protein is an enzyme that hydroxylates steroids at the C21 position on the molecule. Naming conventions for enzymes are based on the substrate acted upon and the chemical process performed. Biochemically, this enzyme is involved in the biosynthesis of the adrenal gland hormones aldosterone and cortisol, which are important in blood pressure regulation, sodium homeostasis and blood sugar control. The enzyme converts progesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone into 11-deoxycorticosterone and 11-deoxycortisol, respectively, within metabolic pathways which in humans ultimately lead to aldosterone and cortisol creation—deficiency in the enzyme may cause congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
  
  Steroid 21-hydroxylase is a member of the cytochrome P450 family of monooxygenase enzymes that use an iron-containing heme cofactor to oxidize substrates. (Full article...)
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  Post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) is a form of acquired epilepsy that results from brain damage caused by physical trauma to the brain (traumatic brain injury, abbreviated TBI). A person with PTE experiences repeated post-traumatic seizures (PTS, seizures that result from TBI) more than a week after the initial injury. PTE is estimated to constitute 5% of all cases of epilepsy and over 20% of cases of acquired epilepsy (in which seizures are caused by an identifiable organic brain condition).
  
  It is not known who will develop epilepsy after TBI and who will not. However, the likelihood that a person will develop PTE is influenced by the severity and type of injury; for example penetrating injuries and those that involve bleeding within the brain confer a higher risk. The onset of PTE can occur within a short time of the physical trauma that causes it, or months or years after. People with head trauma may remain at a higher risk for post-traumatic seizures than the general population even decades after the injury. PTE may be caused by several biochemical processes that occur in the brain after trauma, including overexcitation of brain cells and damage to brain tissues by free radicals. (Full article...)
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  Launch of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI in 2017 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

  
  The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is a foundation that takes donations from public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organisations, to finance independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EID).
  
  CEPI is focused on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "blueprint priority diseases", which include: the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the Nipah virus, the Lassa fever virus, and the Rift Valley fever virus, as well as the Chikungunya virus and the hypothetical, unknown pathogen "Disease X". CEPI investment also requires "equitable access" to the vaccines during outbreaks, although subsequent CEPI policy changes may have compromised this criterion. In 2022, CEPI adopted a vision for the world to be able to respond to a pandemic threat with a new vaccine within 100 days. (Full article...)
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  The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project was founded in New York City in 2003 with the stated purpose of treating rescue workers for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the September 11 attacks. It has two clinics: Downtown Medical on Fulton Street, two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, and another at Williston Park, Long Island. The project's co-founder and top fundraiser is actor Tom Cruise. It uses the Purification Rundown, a detoxification program invented by L. Ron Hubbard as part of Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom. This rundown has been criticized by many doctors as pseudoscientific and medically dangerous. It was reported in October 2007 that 838 people had completed the New York program.
  
  The project has been supported by some public officials, and received some public funding, but received criticism for its financial ties to the Church of Scientology, for exposing rescue workers to potential medical dangers, and for discouraging use of orthodox medicine. Sources in the Fire Department told a reporter that several participants had joined Scientology, even disconnecting from their families. (Full article...)
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  A scanning electron microscope image of human immunodeficiency virus (green) in and around a cultured lymphocyte

  
  
  Bugchasing (alternatively bug chasing) is the particularly rare practice of intentionally seeking human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection through sexual activity.
  
  Bugchasers—those who eroticize HIV—are a subculture of barebackers, men who have unprotected sex with other men. It is statistically rare for men to self-identify as bugchasers, and many of those who do never participate in sexual acts that can lead to HIV infection. There are some explanations for the behavior and fantasies of bugchasing, ranging from sexual excitement at the idea of HIV-positive status, to finding a shared sense of community with other HIV-positive people, to suicidality. (Full article...)
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  Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 (in green) budding from cultured lymphocyte. Multiple round bumps on cell surface represent sites of assembly and budding of virions.

  
  The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of Lentivirus (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. Without treatment, the average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype.
  
  In most cases, HIV is a sexually transmitted infection and occurs by contact with or transfer of blood, pre-ejaculate, semen, and vaginal fluids. Non-sexual transmission can occur from an infected mother to her infant during pregnancy, during childbirth by exposure to her blood or vaginal fluid, and through breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells.
  Research has shown (for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples) that HIV is untransmittable through condomless sexual intercourse if the HIV-positive partner has a consistently undetectable viral load. (Full article...)
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  Mayo, c. 1914

  
  Helen Mary Mayo OBE (1 October 1878 – 13 November 1967) was an Australian medical doctor and medical educator, born and raised in Adelaide. In 1896, she enrolled at the University of Adelaide, where she studied medicine. After graduating, Mayo spent two years working in infant health in England, Ireland and British India. She returned to Adelaide in 1906, starting a private practice and taking up positions at the Adelaide Children's Hospital and Adelaide Hospital (later the Royal Adelaide).
  
  In 1909, she co-founded the School for Mothers, where mothers could receive advice on infant health. This organisation, which became the Mothers' and Babies' Health Association in 1927, eventually established branches across South Australia and incorporated a training school for maternal nurses. In 1914, after unsuccessfully campaigning for the Children's Hospital to treat infants, Mayo co-founded the Mareeba Hospital for infants. (Full article...)
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  "Thou hell o' a' diseases" – William Hole's illustration for Robert Burns' poem "Address to the Toothache" (1897, poem c. 1786).

  
  Toothache, also known as dental pain or tooth pain, is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the teeth by non-dental diseases. When severe it may impact sleep, eating, and other daily activities.
  
  
  Common causes include inflammation of the pulp, (usually in response to tooth decay, dental trauma, or other factors), dentin hypersensitivity, apical periodontitis (inflammation of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone around the root apex), dental abscesses (localized collections of pus), alveolar osteitis ("dry socket", a possible complication of tooth extraction), acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (a gum infection), and temporomandibular disorder. (Full article...)
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  Parts of the nervous system affected by ALS, causing progressive symptoms in skeletal muscles throughout the body

  
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States, is a rare and terminal neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most common form of the motor neuron diseases. Early symptoms of ALS include stiff muscles, muscle twitches, gradual increasing weakness, and muscle wasting. Limb-onset ALS begins with weakness in the arms or legs, while bulbar-onset ALS begins with difficulty in speaking or swallowing. Around half of people with ALS develop at least mild difficulties with thinking and behavior, and about 15% develop frontotemporal dementia. Motor neuron loss continues until the abilities to eat, speak, move, or, lastly, breathe are lost.
  
  
  Most cases of ALS (about 90% to 95%) have no known cause, and are known as sporadic ALS. However, both genetic and environmental factors are believed to be involved. The remaining 5% to 10% of cases have a genetic cause, often linked to a history of the disease in the family, and these are known as familial ALS (hereditary). About half of these genetic cases are due to disease-causing variants in one of four specific genes. The diagnosis is based on a person's signs and symptoms, with testing conducted to rule out other potential causes. (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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  Neuromuscular junction. Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome is caused by autoantibodies to the presynaptic membrane. Myasthenia gravis is caused by autoantibodies to the postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors.

  1. Presynaptic terminal
  2. Sarcolemma
  3. Synaptic vesicle
  4. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
  5. Mitochondrion

  
  Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by muscle weakness of the limbs. It is also known as myasthenic syndrome, Eaton–Lambert syndrome, and when related to cancer, carcinomatous myopathy.
  
  
  Around 60% of those with LEMS have an underlying malignancy, most commonly small-cell lung cancer; it is therefore regarded as a paraneoplastic syndrome (a condition that arises as a result of cancer elsewhere in the body). It is the result of antibodies against presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels, and likely other nerve terminal proteins, in the neuromuscular junction (the connection between nerves and the muscle that they supply). The diagnosis is usually confirmed with electromyography and blood tests; these also distinguish it from myasthenia gravis, a related autoimmune neuromuscular disease. (Full article...)

Did you know –

• ...the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease as a distinct entity were first identified by Emil Kraepelin, and the characteristic neuropathology was first observed by Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist, in 1906? In this sense, the disease was co-discovered by Kraepelin and Alzheimer, who worked in Kraepelin's laboratory. Because of the overwhelming importance Kraepelin attached to finding the neuropathological basis of psychiatric disorders, Kraepelin made the generous decision that the disease would bear Alzheimer's name.

• ...bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity?
• In 2006, according to the World Health Organization, at least 171 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes?

General images –

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

• 
  Magical stela or cippus of Horus inscribed with healing encantations (c. 332 to 280 BCE). (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)
• 
  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)
• 
  healthcare expenditure in Japan by age group (from Health insurance)
• 
  Primary care may be provided in community health centers. (from Health care)
• 
  Health Expenditure per capita (in PPP-adjusted US$) among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  A cuneiform terracotta tablet describing a medicinal recipe for poisoning (c. 18th century BCE). Discovered in Nippur, Iraq.
• 
  Sketch of Muslim physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (from History of medicine)
• 
  Life Expectancy of the total population at birth among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  COVID-19 swab testing in Rwanda (2021). (from History of medicine)
• 
  National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, United Kingdom is a specialist neurological hospital. (from Health care)
• 
  Curandera performing a limpieza in Cuenca, Ecuador (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  18th-century medical remedies collected by a British Gentry family (from History of medicine)
• 
  A doctor checks a patient's pulse in Meiji-era Japan. (from History of medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  Guy's Hospital in 1820 (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)
• 
  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)
• 
  Statue of Robert Koch, father of medical bacteriology, at Robert-Koch-Platz (Robert Koch square) in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  Louis Pasteur experimenting on bacteria, c. 1870 (from History of medicine)
• 
  American Civil War hospital at Gettysburg, 1863 (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)
• 
  A Ukrainian monument to the HIV pandemic. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Charite in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  A 12th-century Byzantine manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE). Known as the "father of medicine". (from History of medicine)
• 
  Life expectancy vs healthcare spending of rich OECD countries. US average of $10,447 in 2018. (from Health care)
• 
  Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,547 beds (from Health care)
• 
  Ethical prayer for medical wisdom by Dr Edmond Fernandes (from Medical ethics)
• 
  "More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette" advertisement for Camel cigarettes in the 1940s (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926), the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Replica of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope of the 1670s (from History of medicine)
• 
  Mandrake (written 'ΜΑΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΑ' in Greek capitals). Naples Dioscurides, 7th century (from History of medicine)
• 
  Zhang Zhongjing - a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (from Medical ethics)
• 
  American combat surgery during the Pacific War, 1943. Major wars showed the need for effective hygiene and medical treatment. (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)
• 
  A Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet fragment describing medical text (c. 9th to 7th century BCE). (from History of medicine)
• 
  "Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale. (from History of medicine)
• 
  The numbers of Americans lacking health insurance and the uninsured rate from 1987 to 2008 (from Health insurance)
• 
  Galen (129–216 CE), Known for their wide insights into anatomy. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Mexico City epidemic of 1737, with elites calling on the Virgin of Guadalupe (from History of medicine)
• 
  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)
• 
  Traditional medicine in a market in Antananarivo, Madagascar (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (from Medical billing)
• 
  Sometimes traditional medicines include parts of endangered species, such as the slow loris in Southeast Asia. (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  Yarrow, a medicinal plant found in human-occupied caves in the Upper Palaeolithic period. (from History of 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)
• 
  Hospital train "Therapist Matvei Mudrov" in Khabarovsk, Russia (from Health care)
• 
  Medicine during the First World War - Medical Transport. (from History of medicine)
• 
  The emergency room is often a frontline venue for the delivery of primary medical care. (from Health care)
• 
  AMA Code of Medical Ethics (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Portrait of Susruta, the author of the he Suśrutasamhitā which describes procedures on various forms of surgery, including rhinoplasty, (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)
• 
  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)
• 
  Smallpox vaccination in Niger, 1969. A decade later, this was the first infectious disease to be eradicated. (from History of medicine)

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