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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  A serpin (white) with its 'reactive centre loop' (blue) bound to a protease (grey). Once the protease attempts catalysis it will be irreversibly inhibited. (PDB: 1K9O​)

  
  Serpins are a superfamily of proteins with similar structures that were first identified for their protease inhibition activity and are found in all kingdoms of life. The acronym serpin was originally coined because the first serpins to be identified act on chymotrypsin-like serine proteases (serine protease inhibitors). They are notable for their unusual mechanism of action, in which they irreversibly inhibit their target protease by undergoing a large conformational change to disrupt the target's active site. This contrasts with the more common competitive mechanism for protease inhibitors that bind to and block access to the protease active site.
  
  Protease inhibition by serpins controls an array of biological processes, including coagulation and inflammation, and consequently these proteins are the target of medical research. Their unique conformational change also makes them of interest to the structural biology and protein folding research communities. The conformational-change mechanism confers certain advantages, but it also has drawbacks: serpins are vulnerable to mutations that can result in serpinopathies such as protein misfolding and the formation of inactive long-chain polymers. Serpin polymerisation not only reduces the amount of active inhibitor, but also leads to accumulation of the polymers, causing cell death and organ failure. (Full article...)
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  High-resolution computed tomography images of the lower chest in a 16-year-old boy with diffuse panbronchiolitis

  
  Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is an inflammatory lung disease of unknown cause. It is a severe, progressive form of bronchiolitis, an inflammatory condition of the bronchioles (small air passages in the lungs). The term diffuse signifies that lesions appear throughout both lungs, while panbronchiolitis refers to inflammation found in all layers of the respiratory bronchioles (those involved in gas exchange). DPB causes severe inflammation and nodule-like lesions of terminal bronchioles, chronic sinusitis, and intense coughing with large amounts of sputum production.
  
  The disease is believed to occur when there is susceptibility, or a lack of immune system resistance, to DPB-causing bacteria or viruses, caused by several genes that are found predominantly in individuals of East Asian descent. The highest incidence occurs among Japanese people, followed by Koreans. DPB occurs more often in males and usually begins around age 40. It was recognized as a distinct new disease in the early 1960s and was formally named diffuse panbronchiolitis in 1969. (Full article...)
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  Influenza virus

  
  Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin one to four (typically two) days after exposure to the virus and last for about two to eight days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia from the virus or a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease.
  
  There are four types of influenza virus: types A, B, C, and D. Aquatic birds are the primary source of influenza A virus (IAV), which is also widespread in various mammals, including humans and pigs. Influenza B virus (IBV) and influenza C virus (ICV) primarily infect humans, and influenza D virus (IDV) is found in cattle and pigs. Influenza A virus and influenza B virus circulate in humans and cause seasonal epidemics, and influenza C virus causes a mild infection, primarily in children. Influenza D virus can infect humans but is not known to cause illness. In humans, influenza viruses are primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. Transmission through aerosols and surfaces contaminated by the virus also occur. (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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  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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  Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley (15 July 1891 – 19 April 1966) was an Australian physician, medical scientist, and army officer who was instrumental in saving thousands of Allied lives from malaria and other diseases.
  
  A graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he was resident of Ormond College, Fairley joined the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1915. He investigated an epidemic of meningitis that was occurring in Army camps in Australia. While with the 14th General Hospital in Cairo, he investigated schistosomiasis (then known as bilharzia) and developed tests and treatments for the disease. In the inter-war period he became renowned as an expert on tropical medicine. (Full article...)
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  Anti-FGM road sign near Kapchorwa, Uganda, 2004

  
  Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies worldwide, but is majorly present in some countries of Africa, Asia and Middle East, and within their diasporas. As of 2024, UNICEF estimates that worldwide 230 million girls and women (144 million in Africa, 80 million in Asia, 6 million in Middle East, and 1-2 million in other parts of the world) had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.
  
  Typically carried out by a traditional cutter using a blade, FGM is conducted from days after birth to puberty and beyond. In half of the countries for which national statistics are available, most girls are cut before the age of five. Procedures differ according to the country or ethnic group. They include removal of the clitoral hood (type 1-a) and clitoral glans (1-b); removal of the inner labia (2-a); and removal of the inner and outer labia and closure of the vulva (type 3). In this last procedure, known as infibulation, a small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid, the vagina is opened for intercourse and opened further for childbirth. (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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  Taare Zameen Par (lit. 'Stars on Earth'), also known as Like Stars on Earth in English, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Aamir Khan. It stars Khan himself, with Darsheel Safary, Tanay Chheda, Vipin Sharma and Tisca Chopra. It explores the life and imagination of Ishaan (Safary), an artistically gifted 8-year-old boy whose poor academic performance leads his parents to send him to a boarding school, where a new art teacher Nikumbh (Khan) suspects that he is dyslexic and helps him to overcome his reading disorder.
  
  Creative director and writer Amole Gupte developed the idea with his wife Deepa Bhatia, who was the film's editor. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the score, and Prasoon Joshi wrote the lyrics for many of the songs. Principal photography took place in Mumbai, and in Panchgani's New Era High School, where some of the school's students participated in the filming. (Full article...)
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  Young people with polio receiving physiotherapy in the 1950s

  
  The social history of viruses describes the influence of viruses and viral infections on human history. Epidemics caused by viruses began when human behaviour changed during the Neolithic period, around 12,000 years ago, when humans developed more densely populated agricultural communities. This allowed viruses to spread rapidly and subsequently to become endemic. Viruses of plants and livestock also increased, and as humans became dependent on agriculture and farming, diseases such as potyviruses of potatoes and rinderpest of cattle had devastating consequences.
  
  Smallpox and measles viruses are among the oldest that infect humans. Having evolved from viruses that infected other animals, they first appeared in humans in Europe and North Africa thousands of years ago. The viruses were later carried to the New World by Europeans during the time of the Spanish Conquests, but the indigenous people had no natural resistance to the viruses and millions of them died during epidemics. Influenza pandemics have been recorded since 1580, and they have occurred with increasing frequency in subsequent centuries. The pandemic of 1918–19, in which 40–50 million died in less than a year, was one of the most devastating in history. (Full article...)
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  A large flap lesion in the femur head typical of late stage Osteochondritis dissecans. In this case, the lesion was caused by avascular necrosis of the bone just under the cartilage.

  
  Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD or OD) is a joint disorder primarily of the subchondral bone in which cracks form in the articular cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone. OCD usually causes pain during and after sports. In later stages of the disorder there will be swelling of the affected joint that catches and locks during movement. Physical examination in the early stages does only show pain as symptom, in later stages there could be an effusion, tenderness, and a crackling sound with joint movement.
  
  
  OCD is caused by blood deprivation of the secondary physes around the bone core of the femoral condyle. This happens to the epiphyseal vessels under the influence of repetitive overloading of the joint during running and jumping sports. During growth such chondronecrotic areas grow into the subchondral bone. There it will show as bone defect area under articular cartilage. The bone will then possibly heal to the surrounding condylar bone in 50% of the cases. Or it will develop into a pseudarthrosis between condylar bone core and osteochondritis flake leaving the articular cartilage it supports prone to damage. The damage is executed by ongoing sport overload. The result is fragmentation (dissection) of both cartilage and bone, and the free movement of these bone and cartilage fragments within the joint space, causing pain, blockage and further damage. OCD has a typical anamnesis with pain during and after sports without any history of trauma. Some symptoms of late stages of osteochondritis dissecans are found with other diseases like rheumatoid disease of children and meniscal ruptures. The disease can be confirmed by X-rays, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. (Full article...)
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  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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  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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  In the early 20th century, German researchers found additional evidence linking smoking to health harms, which strengthened the anti-tobacco movement in the Weimar Republic and led to a state-supported anti-smoking campaign. Early anti-tobacco movements grew in many nations from the middle of the 19th century. The 1933–1945 anti-tobacco campaigns in Nazi Germany have been widely publicized, although stronger laws than those passed in Germany were passed in some American states, the UK, and elsewhere between 1890 and 1930. After 1941, anti-tobacco campaigns were restricted by the Nazi government.
  
  The German movement was the most powerful anti-smoking movement in the world during the 1930s and early 1940s. However, tobacco control policy was incoherent and ineffective, with uncoordinated and often regional efforts by many actors. Obvious measures were not taken, and existing measures were not enforced. Some Nazi leaders condemned smoking and several of them openly criticized tobacco consumption, but others publicly smoked and denied that it was harmful. (Full article...)

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Eyelid affected by Stye.

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  Sickles's leg bones on display

  
  
  The amputated right lower leg of Union Army general Daniel Sickles, lost after a cannonball wound suffered at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, is displayed at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
  
  Sickles was a former New York politician who entered the army after the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. After originally commanding the Excelsior Brigade, Sickles was promoted to major general in 1862 and later commanded the III Corps at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. At Gettysburg, Sickles moved the III Corps forward from his assigned position, and it was shattered by a Confederate attack. During the fighting, he was struck in the leg by a solid shot; the wound later required amputation above the knee. After the amputation, the limb was donated to the Army Medical Museum (now the National Museum of Health and Medicine), where it was used as a teaching example of battlefield trauma. Sickles sometimes visited the limb afterwards, and it remains a popular attraction at the museum. (Full article...)
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  March 2020 message to the English Wikipedia's readers about COVID-19, written by Katherine Maher, then-executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation

  
  
  The COVID-19 pandemic was covered in Wikipedia extensively, in real-time, and across multiple languages. This coverage extends to many detailed articles about various aspects of the topic itself, as well as many existing articles being amended to take account of the pandemic's effect on them. Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects' coverage of the pandemic – and how the volunteer editing community achieved that coverage – received widespread media attention for its comprehensiveness, reliability, and speed. Wikipedia experienced an increase in readership during the pandemic. (Full article...)
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  Michelle Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, also known as Cedillo, was a court case involving the family of Michelle Cedillo, an autistic girl whose parents sued the United States government because they believed that her autism was caused by her receipt of both the measles-mumps-and-rubella vaccine (also known as the MMR vaccine) and thimerosal-containing vaccines. The case was a part of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, where petitioners were required to present three test cases for each proposed mechanism by which vaccines had, according to them, caused their children's autism; Cedillo was the first such case for the MMR-and-thimerosal hypothesis.
  
  The family sought compensation from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), but in order to qualify they were required to prove that it was more likely than not that their children's autism was caused by their vaccines. The scientific community had concluded that vaccines did not cause autism years before the first cases were heard, and concern was therefore expressed that the relatively lax evidentiary standards of the NVICP could lead to compensation being awarded in spite of the compelling scientific evidence to the contrary. This, some vaccine supporters argued, might have serious adverse public health effects by discouraging vaccine manufacturers from producing more childhood vaccines. Though the NVICP had existed since 1988, it was not designed to handle the thousands of cases it received from 1999 to 2007, which led to the establishment of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding in 2002. (Full article...)
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  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for the amount of sleep needed decrease with age. While sleep quantity is important, good sleep quality is also essential to avoid sleep disorders.

  
  Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically (or mentally) too close to bedtime, limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using bed for anything but sleep and sex, avoiding alcohol (as well as nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants) in the hours before bedtime, and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment.
  
  However, as of 2021, the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of sleep hygiene is "limited and inconclusive" for the general population and for the treatment of insomnia, despite being the oldest treatment for insomnia. A systematic review by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine concluded that clinicians should not prescribe sleep hygiene for insomnia due to the evidence of absence of its efficacy and potential delaying of adequate treatment, recommending instead that effective therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia should be preferred. (Full article...)
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  Eilish Cleary (October 22, 1963 – March 22, 2024) was an Irish-born Canadian physician, health officer, and public health advocate who served as the Chief Medical Officer of Health in New Brunswick from 2007 until her termination in 2015, following a controversial decision by the provincial government. Shortly before her dismissal, she was studying glyphosate, a herbicide that is used in the province and has been characterized as potentially being carcinogenic to humans.
  
  Born in Dublin, Cleary became the country's youngest doctor upon graduating from Trinity College. She later moved to Canada where she served as a public health official in Manitoba before moving to New Brunswick to work there. After her termination, Cleary continued worked as a public health official for other provinces until her death in 2024 from ovarian cancer. She received multiple awards and honours throughout her career, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal as well as appointments to various institutions such as the University of Manitoba and the University of New Brunswick. (Full article...)
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  Micrograph of Alzheimer type II astrocytes, as may be seen in hepatic encephalopathy

  
  Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is an altered level of consciousness as a result of liver failure. Its onset may be gradual or sudden. Other symptoms may include movement problems, changes in mood, or changes in personality. In the advanced stages it can result in a coma.
  
  
  Hepatic encephalopathy can occur in those with acute or chronic liver disease. Episodes can be triggered by infections, gastrointestinal bleeding, constipation, electrolyte problems, or certain medications. The underlying mechanism is believed to involve the buildup of ammonia in the blood, a substance that is normally removed by the liver. The diagnosis is typically based on symptoms after ruling out other potential causes. It may be supported by blood ammonia levels, an electroencephalogram, or computer tomography (CT scan) of the brain. (Full article...)
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  Colored scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of SARS-CoV-2, speculated in 2020 as being the first virus to create Disease X

  
  
  Disease X is a placeholder name that was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2018 on their shortlist of blueprint priority diseases to represent a hypothetical, unknown pathogen that could cause a future epidemic. The WHO adopted the placeholder name to ensure that their planning was sufficiently flexible to adapt to an unknown pathogen (e.g., broader vaccines and manufacturing facilities). Former Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci stated that the concept of Disease X would encourage WHO projects to focus their research efforts on entire classes of viruses (e.g., flaviviruses), instead of just individual strains (e.g., zika virus), thus improving WHO capability to respond to unforeseen strains.
  
  In 2020, experts, including some of the WHO's own expert advisors, speculated that COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, met the requirements to be the first Disease X. In December 2024, an unidentified disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was sometimes referred to as Disease X, after infecting over 400 people and killing at least 79, later revealed to be an aggressive strain of malaria. (Full article...)
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  Malaria parasite connecting to a red blood cell

  
  Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and Anopheles mosquitoes. Human malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually begin 10 to 15 days after being bitten by an infected Anopheles mosquito. If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months later. In those who have recently survived an infection, reinfection usually causes milder symptoms. This partial resistance disappears over months to years if the person has no continuing exposure to malaria. The mosquito vector is itself harmed by Plasmodium infections, causing reduced lifespan.
  
  Human malaria is caused by single-celled microorganisms of the Plasmodium group. It is spread exclusively through bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The mosquito bite introduces the parasites from the mosquito's saliva into a person's blood. The parasites travel to the liver, where they mature and reproduce. Five species of Plasmodium commonly infect humans. The three species associated with more severe cases are P. falciparum (which is responsible for the vast majority of malaria deaths), P. vivax, and P. knowlesi (a simian malaria that spills over into thousands of people a year). P. ovale and P. malariae generally cause a milder form of malaria. Malaria is typically diagnosed by the microscopic examination of blood using blood films, or with antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests. Methods that use the polymerase chain reaction to detect the parasite's DNA have been developed, but they are not widely used in areas where malaria is common, due to their cost and complexity. (Full article...)
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  Sir Ewan Forbes, 11th Baronet, MBChB (6 September 1912 – 12 September 1991), was a Scottish nobleman, general practitioner and farmer. Forbes was a trans man; he was officially registered as the youngest daughter of John, Lord Sempill. After an uncomfortable upbringing, he began presenting as a man in the 1930s, following a course of medical treatments in Germany. He formally re-registered his birth as male in 1952, changing his name to Ewan, and was married a month later.
  
  In 1965, he stood to inherit the baronetcy of his elder brother William, Lord Sempill, together with a large estate. This inheritance was challenged by his cousin, who argued that the re-registration was invalid; under this interpretation, Forbes would legally be considered a woman, and thus unable to inherit the baronetcy. The legal position was unclear, and it took three years before a ruling by the Court of Session, which held him to be intersex, finally led to the Home Secretary recognising his claim to the title. The case was heard in great secrecy, with the effect that it was unable to be considered in other judgments on the legal recognition of gender variance, but has become more widely known since his death in 1991. (Full article...)
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  Kassabian in 1909

  
  Mihran Krikor Kassabian (August 25, 1870 – July 14, 1910) was an Armenian-American physician, one of the early investigators into the medical uses of X-rays, and a faculty member at the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia. He became director of the Roentgen Ray Laboratory at Philadelphia General Hospital and vice president of both the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) and the American Electro-Therapeutic Association.
  
  Born in Kayseri, Kassabian studied in London and Philadelphia before serving in the United States Army Hospital Corps during the Spanish–American War. After the war, he finished medical school at the Medico-Chirurgical College and became an instructor there. He invented a positioning device that displayed the ribs as round rather than flat on X-ray images. Kassabian had a special interest in the use of X-ray findings in court proceedings. He represented the American Medical Association at international conventions, and in 1907 he wrote an influential textbook on electrotherapeutics and radiology. (Full article...)
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  Zyklon labels from Dachau concentration camp used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials; the first and third panels contain manufacturer information and the brand name, the center panel reads "Poison Gas! Cyanide preparation to be opened and used only by trained personnel"

  
  
  Zyklon B (German: [tsyˈkloːn ˈbeː] ; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consists of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such as diatomaceous earth. The product is notorious for its use by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust to murder approximately 1.1 million people in gas chambers installed at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, and other extermination camps.
  
  Hydrogen cyanide, a poisonous gas that interferes with cellular respiration, was first used as a pesticide in California in the 1880s. Research at Degesch of Germany led to the development of Zyklon (later known as Zyklon A), a pesticide that released hydrogen cyanide upon exposure to water and heat. It was banned after World War I, when Germany used a similar product as a chemical weapon. Degussa purchased Degesch in 1922. Their team of chemists, which included Walter Heerdt and Bruno Tesch, devised a method of packaging hydrogen cyanide in sealed canisters along with a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such as diatomaceous earth. The new product was also named Zyklon, but it became known as Zyklon B to distinguish it from the earlier version. Uses included delousing clothing and fumigating ships, warehouses, and trains. (Full article...)
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  An X-ray showing a raised diaphragm on the right

  
  Diaphragmatic rupture (also called diaphragmatic injury or tear) is a tear of the diaphragm, the muscle across the bottom of the ribcage that plays a crucial role in breathing. Most commonly, acquired diaphragmatic tears result from physical trauma. Diaphragmatic rupture can result from blunt or penetrating trauma and occurs in about 0.5% of all people with trauma.
  
  Diagnostic techniques include X-ray, computed tomography, and surgical techniques such as an explorative surgery. Diagnosis is often difficult because signs may not show up on X-ray, or signs that do show up appear similar to other conditions. Signs and symptoms include chest and abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, and decreased lung sounds. When a tear is discovered, surgery is needed to repair it. (Full article...)
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  Captain Novolin is a 1992 educational platform video game, developed by Sculptured Software and published by Raya Systems for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Starring the eponymous superhero with type 1 diabetes, the game sees the player control Captain Novolin on a quest to save the mayor of Pineville from the supervillain Blubberman. It is a part of educational video game series from Raya that also includes Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon, Packy and Marlon, and Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus.
  
  Funding for the game came from Novo Nordisk (makers of the Novolin brand of insulin) and the National Institutes of Health. To promote the game, Novo Nordisk distributed 10,000 free copies to hospitals. During its initial release, the game was positively received by diabetes specialists, as well as children with the condition; but the retrospective reception from video game critics has been poor, and it has been named as one of the worst video games of all time. (Full article...)
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  Portrait by Max Büttinghausen, 1895–1905

  
  Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs (Dutch pronunciation: [aːˈlɛtaː ɦɑ̃ːriˈjɛtə ˈjaːkɔps]; 9 February 1854 – 10 August 1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. As the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, she became one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. In 1882, she founded the world's first birth control clinic and was a leader in both the Dutch and international women's movements. She led campaigns aimed at deregulating prostitution, improving women's working conditions, promoting peace and calling for women's right to vote.
  
  Born in the mid-nineteenth century, Jacobs yearned to become a doctor like her father. Despite existing barriers, she fought to gain entry to higher education and graduated in 1879 with the first doctorate in medicine earned by a woman in the Netherlands. Providing medical services to women and children, she grew concerned over the health of working women, recognizing that as laws did not provide adequate protection for their health, their economic stability was compromised. She opened a free clinic to educate poor women about hygiene and child care and in 1882 expanded her services to include distribution of contraception information and devices. Though she continued to practice medicine until 1903, Jacobs increasingly turned her attention to activism with a view to improving women's lives. (Full article...)
• 
  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...)

Did you know –

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

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

General images –

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

• 
  Replica of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope of the 1670s (from History of medicine)
• 
  Guy's Hospital in 1820 (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)
• 
  American combat surgery during the Pacific War, 1943 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Sometimes traditional medicines include parts of endangered species, such as the slow loris in Southeast Asia. (from Traditional 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)
• 
  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)
• 
  Life expectancy vs healthcare spending of rich OECD countries. US average of $10,447 in 2018. (from Health care)
• 
  National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, United Kingdom is a specialist neurological hospital. (from Health care)
• 
  Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926), the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics (from History of medicine)
• 
  healthcare expenditure in Japan by age group (from Health insurance)
• 
  Curandera performing a limpieza in Cuenca, Ecuador (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  Smallpox vaccination in Niger, 1969. A decade later, this was the first infectious disease to be eradicated. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet fragment describing medical text (c. 9th to 7th century BCE) (from History of medicine)
• 
  The numbers of Americans lacking health insurance and the uninsured rate from 1987 to 2008 (from Health insurance)
• 
  A doctor checks a patient's pulse in Meiji-era Japan. (from History of medicine)
• 
  A cuneiform terracotta tablet describing a medicinal recipe for poisoning (c. 18th century BCE). Discovered in Nippur, Iraq.
• 
  COVID-19 swab testing in Rwanda (2021) (from History of medicine)
• 
  Galen (129–216 CE), known for his wide insights into anatomy (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)
• 
  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)
• 
  Hospital train "Therapist Matvei Mudrov" in Khabarovsk, Russia (from Health care)
• 
  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)
• 
  Traditional medicine in a market in Antananarivo, Madagascar (from Traditional medicine)
• 
  A 12th-century Byzantine manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath (from Medical ethics)
• 
  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)
• 
  Total healthcare cost per person. Public and private spending. US dollars PPP. For example: $6,319 for Canada in 2022. $12,555 for the US in 2022. (from Health care)
• 
  Depiction of smallpox in Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagún's history of the conquest of Mexico, Book XII of the Florentine Codex, from the defeated Aztecs' point of view (from History of medicine)
• 
  Primary care may be provided in community health centers. (from Health care)
• 
  Louis Pasteur experimenting on bacteria, c. 1870 (from History of medicine)
• 
  18th-century medical remedies collected by a British Gentry family (from History of medicine)
• 
  Zhang Zhongjing – a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty (from History of medicine)
• 
  AMA Code of Medical Ethics (from Medical ethics)
• 
  "More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette" advertisement for Camel cigarettes in the 1940s (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Patient, Surrey County Lunatic Asylum, c. 1850–58. The asylum population in England and Wales rose from 1,027 in 1827 to 74,004 in 1900. (from History of medicine)
• 
  Sketch of Muslim physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (from History of medicine)
• 
  The Quaker-run York Retreat, founded in 1796, gained international prominence as a centre for moral treatment and a model of asylum reform following the publication of Samuel Tuke's Description of the Retreat (1813). (from History of medicine)
• 
  Mexico City epidemic of 1737, with elites calling on the Virgin of Guadalupe (from History of medicine)
• 
  American Civil War hospital at Gettysburg, 1863 (from History of medicine)
• 
  Health Expenditure per capita (in PPP-adjusted US$) among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  Life Expectancy of the total population at birth among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  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)
• 
  "Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale (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)
• 
  Statue of Robert Koch, father of medical bacteriology, at Robert-Koch-Platz (Robert Koch square) in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  Charite in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  Magical stela or cippus of Horus inscribed with healing encantations (c. 332 to 280 BCE) (from History of medicine)
• 
  Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (from Medical billing)
• 
  A Ukrainian monument to the HIV pandemic (from History of medicine)
• 
  Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE). Known as the "father of medicine". (from History of medicine)
• 
  An American billing clerk preparing a detailed invoice. (1992) (from Medical billing)
• 
  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 funding types (from Health insurance)
• 
  Ethical prayer for medical wisdom by Dr Edmond Fernandes (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Yarrow, a medicinal plant found in human-occupied caves in the Upper Palaeolithic period (from History of medicine)
• 
  Mandrake (written 'ΜΑΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΑ' in Greek capitals). Naples Dioscurides, 7th century (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 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)
• 
  Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (from Medical ethics)

More Did you know (auto generated)

• ... that Margaret C. Roberts was encouraged to study medicine by LDS Church leader Brigham Young to reduce mortality rates during childbirth?
• ... that Constance Fozzard was told during her surgical training that women with children could not become consultants?
• ... that a lack of screening for pregnant women with syphilis in sub-Saharan Africa is associated with increased infant mortality?
• ... that the Noongar used the Eucalyptus wandoo tree as a medicine and ointment?
• ... that fourteenth-century Buddhist monk Tuệ Tĩnh is referred to as a founding father of traditional Vietnamese medicine?
• ... that Tang Zonghai was one of the first advocates for the integration of Chinese and Western medicine?

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