Portal:Medicine

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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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  Ray Fletcher Farquharson MBE (4 August 1897 – 1 June 1965) was a Canadian medical doctor, university professor, and medical researcher. Born in Claude, Ontario, he attended and taught at the University of Toronto for most of his life, and was trained and employed at Toronto General Hospital. With co-researcher Arthur Squires, Farquharson was responsible for the discovery of the Farquharson phenomenon, an important principle of endocrinology, which is that administering external hormones suppresses the natural production of that hormone.
  
  He served in the First and Second World Wars, earning appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his medical work during the latter. He chaired the Penicillin Committee of Canada and served as a medical consultant for the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was awarded the Queen's Coronation Medal in 1953 for his work for the Defence Review Board. Farquharson was also a charter member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. (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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  Hirudo medicinalis sucking blood

  
  Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid; the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels.
  
  The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. (Full article...)
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  Biopsy of small bowel showing coeliac disease manifested by blunting of villi, crypt hyperplasia, 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. Patients develop intolerance to gluten, which is present in foods such as wheat, rye, spelt 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. (Full article...)
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  Amphetamine (contracted from alpha-methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity; it is also used to treat binge eating disorder in the form of its inactive prodrug lisdexamfetamine. Amphetamine was discovered as a chemical in 1887 by Lazăr Edeleanu, and then as a drug in the late 1920s. It exists as two enantiomers: levoamphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Amphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical, the racemic free base, which is equal parts of the two enantiomers in their pure amine forms. The term is frequently used informally to refer to any combination of the enantiomers, or to either of them alone. Historically, it has been used to treat nasal congestion and depression. Amphetamine is also used as an athletic performance enhancer and cognitive enhancer, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. It is a prescription drug in many countries, and unauthorized possession and distribution of amphetamine are often tightly controlled due to the significant health risks associated with recreational use.
  
  The first amphetamine pharmaceutical was Benzedrine, a brand which was used to treat a variety of conditions. Pharmaceutical amphetamine is prescribed as racemic amphetamine, Adderall, dextroamphetamine, or the inactive prodrug lisdexamfetamine. Amphetamine increases monoamine and excitatory neurotransmission in the brain, with its most pronounced effects targeting the norepinephrine and dopamine neurotransmitter systems. (Full article...)
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  Testing for ketone bodies in urine

  
  
  The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate dietary therapy that in conventional medicine is used mainly to treat hard-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.
  
  Normally, carbohydrates in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is important in fueling brain function. However, if only a little carbohydrate remains in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies, the latter passing into the brain and replacing glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood (a state called ketosis) eventually lowers the frequency of epileptic seizures. Around half of children and young people with epilepsy who have tried some form of this diet saw the number of seizures drop by at least half, and the effect persists after discontinuing the diet. Some evidence shows that adults with epilepsy may benefit from the diet and that a less strict regimen, such as a modified Atkins diet, is similarly effective. Side effects may include constipation, high cholesterol, growth slowing, acidosis, and kidney stones. (Full article...)
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  CT scan of the brain showing subarachnoid hemorrhage as a white area in the center (marked by the arrow) and stretching into the sulci to either side

  
  Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of consciousness, fever, weakness, numbness, and sometimes seizures. Neck stiffness or neck pain are also relatively common. In about a quarter of people a small bleed with resolving symptoms occurs within a month of a larger bleed.
  
  
  SAH may occur as a result of a head injury or spontaneously, usually from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Risk factors for spontaneous cases include high blood pressure, smoking, family history, alcoholism, and cocaine use. Generally, the diagnosis can be determined by a CT scan of the head if done within six hours of symptom onset. Occasionally, a lumbar puncture is also required. After confirmation further tests are usually performed to determine the underlying cause. (Full article...)
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  Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin is a 2020 non-fiction book by the medical librarian and death-positive advocate Megan Rosenbloom. Dealing with anthropodermic bibliopegy, the binding of books in human skin, it expounds upon Rosenbloom's research on such books and their historical, ethical, and cultural implications.
  
  The book focuses on the relationship between anthropodermic bibliopegy and the history of medicine; most confirmed cases of such books were created or owned by medical professionals, in contrast to common stereotypes that they were associated with Nazi Germany, serial killers, or the French Revolution. Rosenbloom discusses how the practice reflects the changing attitudes towards consent, ownership, and disposal of human bodies, and how the history of anthropodermic books intertwines with the history of medical ethics as a field. She interviews librarians, archivists, collectors, and experts on the topic, and examines notable examples of such books and their origins. Though Rosenbloom supports the preservation and maintenance of anthropodermic books, Dark Archives also covers arguments to the contrary, such as those espoused by Princeton University Library senior librarian Paul Needham. (Full article...)
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  Microscopic image of a Lewy body (adjacent to 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. Unlike some other dementias, memory loss may not be an early symptom. The disease worsens over time and is usually diagnosed when cognitive impairment interferes with normal daily functioning. Together with Parkinson's disease dementia, DLB is one of the two Lewy body dementias. It is a common form of dementia, but the prevalence is not known accurately and many diagnoses are missed. The disease was first described on autopsy by Kenji Kosaka in 1976, and he named the condition several years later.
  
  REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)—in which people lose the muscle paralysis (atonia) that normally occurs during REM sleep and act out their dreams—is a core feature. RBD may appear years or decades before other symptoms. Other core features are visual hallucinations, marked fluctuations in attention or alertness, and parkinsonism (slowness of movement, trouble walking, or rigidity). A presumptive diagnosis can be made if several disease features or biomarkers are present; the diagnostic workup may include blood tests, neuropsychological tests, imaging, and sleep studies. A definitive diagnosis usually requires an autopsy. (Full article...)
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  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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  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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  Golding Bird, 1840

  
  Golding Bird FRS FRCP FLS FGS (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits in 1844. He was also notable for his work in related sciences, especially the medical uses of electricity and electrochemistry. From 1836, he lectured at Guy's Hospital, a well-known teaching hospital in London and now part of King's College London, and published a popular textbook on science for medical students called Elements of Natural Philosophy.
  
  Having developed an interest in chemistry while still a child, largely through self-study, Bird was far enough advanced to deliver lectures to his fellow pupils at school. He later applied this knowledge to medicine and did much research on the chemistry of urine and of kidney stones. In 1842, he was the first to describe oxaluria, a condition which leads to the formation of a particular kind of stone. (Full article...)
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  Sadler c. 1915

  
  William Samuel Sadler (June 24, 1875 – April 26, 1969) was an American surgeon, self-trained psychiatrist, and author who helped publish The Urantia Book. The book is said to have resulted from Sadler's relationship with a man through whom he believed celestial beings spoke at night. It drew a following of people who studied its teachings.
  
  A native of Indiana, Sadler moved to Michigan as a teenager to work at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. There he met the physician and health-food promoter John Harvey Kellogg, co-inventor of corn flakes breakfast cereal, who became his mentor. Sadler married Kellogg's niece, Lena Celestia Kellogg, in 1897. He worked for several Christian organizations and attended medical school, graduating in 1906. Sadler practiced medicine in Chicago with his wife, who was also a physician. He joined several medical associations and taught at the McCormick Theological Seminary. Although he was a committed member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for almost twenty years, he left the denomination after it disfellowshipped his wife's uncle, John Harvey Kellogg, in 1907. Sadler and his wife became speakers on the Chautauqua adult education circuit in 1907, and he became a highly paid, popular orator. He eventually wrote over 40 books on a variety of medical and spiritual topics advocating a holistic approach to health. Sadler extolled the value of prayer and religion but was skeptical of mediums, assisting debunker Howard Thurston, and embraced the scientific consensus on evolution. (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 that exhibits less virulence. Its helical body (from which the genus name Helicobacter derives) is thought to have evolved 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 Australian physician-scientists Barry Marshall and Robin Warren. In 2005, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery.
  
  Infection of the stomach with H. pylori does not necessarily cause illness: over half of the global population is infected, but most individuals are asymptomatic. Persistent colonization with more virulent strains can induce a number of gastric and non-gastric disorders. Gastric disorders due to infection begin with gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach lining. When infection is persistent, the prolonged inflammation will become chronic gastritis. Initially, this will be non-atrophic gastritis, but the damage caused to the stomach lining can bring about the development of atrophic gastritis and ulcers within the stomach itself or 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 confers a comparatively lower risk of cancer. Helicobacter pylori are class 1 carcinogenic bacteria, and potential cancers include gastric MALT lymphoma and gastric cancer. Infection with H. pylori is responsible for an estimated 89% of all gastric cancers and is linked to the development of 5.5% of all cases cancers worldwide. H. pylori is the only bacterium known to cause cancer. (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 disorder causes the second-most years lived with disability, after lower back pain.
  
  The diagnosis of major depressive disorder is based on the person's reported experiences, behavior reported by family 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 three times 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...)

Selected image –

Human karyotype with color added to distinguish chromosome pairs.

Photo credit: nih.gov

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  Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey CM (née Oldham; July 24, 1914 – August 7, 2015) was a Canadian-American pharmacologist and physician. As a reviewer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), she refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the lack of evidence regarding the drug's safety. Her concerns proved to be justified when it was shown that thalidomide caused serious birth defects. Kelsey's career intersected with the passage of laws strengthening FDA oversight of pharmaceuticals. Kelsey was the second woman to receive the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service, awarded to her by John F. Kennedy in 1962. (Full article...)
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  Magnetic resonance image of a patient with neurocysticercosis demonstrating multiple cysticerci within the brain

  
  Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a parasitic infection of the nervous system caused by the larvae of the tapeworm Taenia solium, also known as the "pork tapeworm". The disease is primarily transmitted through direct contact with human feces, often through the consumption of food or water containing Taenia solium eggs. These eggs hatch in the small intestine and penetrate the intestinal wall. The larvae can travel to the brain, muscles, eyes, and skin. Neurocysticercosis, caused by Taenia solium larvae, differs from taeniasis, which results from adult tapeworm infection.
  
  Neurocysticercosis manifests with various signs and symptoms, influenced by the location, number of lesions, and immune response. While some people may have no symptoms, others may experience seizures, increased pressure in the skull, cognitive impairment, or specific neurological problems. In severe cases, the condition can be life-threatening. (Full article...)
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  Histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) is a protein encoded by the HNMT gene in humans. It belongs to the methyltransferases superfamily of enzymes and plays a role in the inactivation of histamine, a biomolecule that is involved in various physiological processes. Methyltransferases are present in every life form including archaeans, with 230 families of methyltransferases found across species.
  
  Specifically, HNMT transfers a methyl (-CH₃) group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM-e) to histamine, forming an inactive metabolite called N^τ-methylhistamine, in a chemical reaction called N^τ-methylation. In mammals, HNMT operates alongside diamine oxidase (DAO) as the only two enzymes responsible for histamine metabolism; however, what sets HNMT apart is its unique presence within the central nervous system (CNS), where it governs histaminergic neurotransmission, that is a process where histamine acts as a messenger molecule between the neurons—nerve cells—in the brain. By degrading and regulating levels of histamine specifically within the CNS, HNMT ensures the proper functioning of neural pathways related to arousal, appetite regulation, sleep-wake cycles, and other essential brain functions. (Full article...)
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  Pain in cancer may arise from a tumor compressing or infiltrating nearby body parts; from treatments and diagnostic procedures; or from skin, nerve and other changes caused by a hormone imbalance or immune response. Most chronic (long-lasting) pain is caused by the illness and most acute (short-term) pain is caused by treatment or diagnostic procedures. However, radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy may produce painful conditions that persist long after treatment has ended.
  
  The presence of pain depends mainly on the location of the cancer and the stage of the disease. At any given time, about half of all people diagnosed with malignant cancer are experiencing pain, and two-thirds of those with advanced cancer experience pain of such intensity that it adversely affects their sleep, mood, social relations and activities of daily living. (Full article...)
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  Mayo Foundation v. United States, 562 U.S. 44 (2011), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld a Treasury Department regulation on the grounds that the courts should defer to government agencies in tax cases in absence of an unreasonable decision on the part of the agency.
  
  Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), students and their educational employers are exempted from paying Social Security taxes. The Treasury Department issued a regulation in 2004, declaring those who worked more than 40 hours a week were ineligible for such an exemption. The Mayo Foundation filed suit to challenge the regulation and for a refund of the taxes it had paid on its medical residents—recently graduated physicians, who work more than full-time providing patient care but who are still considered trainees by the medical profession. The District Court ruled for the Mayo Foundation and struck the regulation, but was reversed by the Court of Appeals. (Full article...)
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  David Albala c. 1939

  
  David Albala (born David Kovu; 1 September 1886 – 4 April 1942) was a Serbian military officer, physician, diplomat and Jewish community leader.
  
  In 1905, Albala enrolled at the University of Vienna to study medicine. He returned to Serbia following the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912 and enlisted in the Royal Serbian Army. In late 1915, Albala took part in the Royal Serbian Army's arduous winter retreat to the Greek island of Corfu, during which he contracted typhoid, and was subsequently evacuated to North Africa. Upon recovering, Albala returned to Corfu, where he proposed to Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić that he travel to United States to lobby on Serbia's behalf. Pašić agreed to the proposal and Albala embarked on a tour of the United States giving speeches, raising bonds and soliciting loans. On 27 December 1917, the head of the Serbian delegation to the United States, Milenko Vesnić, sent Albala a letter in which he affirmed Serbia's support for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. Serbia thus became the first country to endorse the Balfour Declaration. (Full article...)
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  Cornelius Packard "Dusty" Rhoads (June 9, 1898 – August 13, 1959) was an American pathologist, oncologist, and hospital administrator who was involved in a racist scandal and subsequent whitewashing in the 1930s. Beginning in 1940, he served as director of Memorial Hospital for Cancer Research in New York, from 1945 was the first director of Sloan-Kettering Institute, and the first director of the combined Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center. For his contributions to cancer research, Rhoads was featured on the cover of the June 27, 1949, issue of Time magazine under the title "Cancer Fighter".
  
  During his early years with the Rockefeller Institute in the 1930s, Rhoads specialized in anemia and leukemia, working for six months in Puerto Rico in 1932 as part of the Rockefeller Foundation International Health Board contingent. During World War II, he worked for the United States Army helping to develop chemical weapons and set up research centers. Research on mustard gas led to developments for its use in chemotherapy at Sloan Kettering. (Full article...)
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  Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to its heavier homologues strontium and barium. It is the fifth most abundant element in Earth's crust, and the third most abundant metal, after iron and aluminium. The most common calcium compound on Earth is calcium carbonate, found in limestone and the fossilized remnants of early sea life; gypsum, anhydrite, fluorite, and apatite are also sources of calcium. The name derives from Latin calx "lime", which was obtained from heating limestone.
  
  Some calcium compounds were known to the ancients, though their chemistry was unknown until the seventeenth century. Pure calcium was isolated in 1808 via electrolysis of its oxide by Humphry Davy, who named the element. Calcium compounds are widely used in many industries: in foods and pharmaceuticals for calcium supplementation, in the paper industry as bleaches, as components in cement and electrical insulators, and in the manufacture of soaps. On the other hand, the metal in pure form has few applications due to its high reactivity; still, in small quantities it is often used as an alloying component in steelmaking, and sometimes, as a calcium–lead alloy, in making automotive batteries. (Full article...)
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  Charles Obadiah Nimma Wambebe CON, OFR (8 August 1946 – 9 November 2022) was a Nigerian professor of pharmacology who served as the director-general/chief executive officer of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) in Abuja. He contributed to the development of Niprisan, a phytomedicine for sickle cell disorder management, which led to The World Academy of Sciences Award in Medical Sciences. He also worked as a consultant in traditional medicine for various international organisations and held professorships at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa and Makerere University in Uganda. (Full article...)
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  Stack Medical Research Laboratories in 1937

  
  The National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) (Arabic: المعمل القومي للصحة العامة) is a public health laboratory in Sudan that was previously known as the Stack Medical Research Laboratories (Arabic: معمل استاك للبحوث الطبية) from its inception in 1927 until April 1969. The name Stack Medical Research Laboratories referred to Lee Stack, a Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Directors including Eric S. Horgan, Robert Kirk, and Mansour Ali Haseeb developed research programs on endemic diseases including leishmaniasis, yellow fever, and smallpox vaccine development.
  
  In 1969, the name changed to National Public Health Laboratories, by which time it was a significant medical research hub, affiliated with the Sudan Medical Research Council. The laboratory's role expanded to conducting diagnostics, vaccine production, and research on malaria and yellow fever. The laboratory is a centre for medical education, training, and research. In the 2020s, the laboratory faced severe challenges during the Sudanese revolution and the Sudanese civil war, forcing a relocation to Port Sudan due to war-induced destruction. (Full article...)
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  A postprandial manometry of a patient with rumination syndrome showing intra-abdominal pressure. The "spikes" are characteristic of the abdominal wall contractions responsible for the regurgitation in rumination.

  
  Rumination syndrome, or merycism, is a chronic motility disorder characterized by effortless regurgitation of most meals following consumption, due to the involuntary contraction of the muscles around the abdomen. There is no retching, nausea, heartburn, odour, or abdominal pain associated with the regurgitation as there is with typical vomiting, and the regurgitated food is undigested. The disorder has been historically documented as affecting only infants, young children, and people with cognitive disabilities (the prevalence is as high as 10% in institutionalized patients with various mental disabilities).
  It is increasingly being diagnosed in a greater number of otherwise healthy adolescents and adults, though there is a lack of awareness of the condition by doctors, patients, and the general public.
  
  Rumination syndrome presents itself in a variety of ways, with especially high contrast existing between the presentation of the typical adult patient without a mental disability and the presentation of an adult with a mental disability. Like related gastrointestinal disorders, rumination can adversely affect normal functioning and the social lives of individuals. It has been linked with depression. (Full article...)
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  Diagram demonstrating the anatomy of both internal and external hemorrhoids

  
  Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term hemorrhoid is often used to refer to the disease. The signs and symptoms of hemorrhoids depend on the type present. Internal hemorrhoids often result in painless, bright red rectal bleeding when defecating. External hemorrhoids often result in pain and swelling in the area of the anus. If bleeding occurs, it is usually darker. Symptoms frequently get better after a few days. A skin tag may remain after the healing of an external hemorrhoid.
  
  
  While the exact cause of hemorrhoids remains unknown, a number of factors that increase pressure in the abdomen are believed to be involved. This may include constipation, diarrhea, and sitting on the toilet for long periods. Hemorrhoids are also more common during pregnancy. Diagnosis is made by looking at the area. Many people incorrectly refer to any symptom occurring around the anal area as hemorrhoids, and serious causes of the symptoms should not be ruled out. Colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy is reasonable to confirm the diagnosis and rule out more serious causes. (Full article...)
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  Johann Joseph Dömling (13 January 1771 – 7 March 1803) was a German physician, pauper's doctor and professor of physiology at the University of Würzburg. He was the son of a farmer who was unable to afford further education himself, but as a gifted student, his studies were supported by the prince-bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal. After his studies of medicine, Dömling went on a study tour, meeting many important physicians of his era as well as the Romantic philosophers Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. He became professor of physiology in Würzburg in 1799 and was popular with his students.
  
  Dömling was critical of humorism and originally supported a mechanistic physiology. After early publications critical of Schelling's philosophical approach, Dömling became a supporter, basing his textbook on human physiology on Schelling's theories. His textbook, considered part of a transition from anatomy-based physiology to one based on organic function, also contains the earliest reference to the endogenous presence of carbon monoxide in human blood. Dömling died at the age of 32 from typhoid fever and pneumonia. (Full article...)
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  Nicotinic acid, or niacin, is an organic compound and a vitamer of vitamin B₃, an essential human nutrient. It is produced by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan.
  
  Nicotinic acid is also a prescription medication. Amounts far in excess of the recommended dietary intake for vitamin functions will lower blood triglycerides and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and raise blood high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, often referred to as "good" cholesterol). There are two forms: immediate-release and sustained-release nicotinic acid. Initial prescription amounts are 500 mg/day, increased over time until a therapeutic effect is achieved. Immediate-release doses can be as high as 3,000 mg/day; sustained-release as high as 2,000 mg/day. Despite the proven lipid changes, nicotinic acid has not been found useful for decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease in those already prescribed a statin drug. A 2010 review had concluded that nicotinic acid was effective as a mono-therapy, but a 2017 review incorporating twice as many trials concluded that prescription nicotinic acid, while affecting lipid levels, did not reduce all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarctions, nor fatal or non-fatal strokes. Prescription nicotinic acid was shown to cause hepatotoxicity and increase risk of type 2 diabetes. Nicotinic acid prescriptions in the U.S. had peaked in 2009 at 9.4 million, declining to 800 thousand by 2020. (Full article...)
• 
  Basic Medicine (Korean: 기초의학; MR: Kich'o ŭihak) is a North Korean quarterly general medical journal established in 1969 and published by the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House (과학백과사전출판사). The journal is subject to widespread publication bias and does not meet international standards; it lacks peer review, in-line citations, and an ethical code. Basic Medicine is produced primarily for domestic distribution, although it is one of ten North Korean medical journals available in South Korea. (Full article...)

Did you know –

• ... vinca alkaloids are chemotherapy drugs that inhibit the polymerization of tubulin, whereas taxanes are produced by plants of the genus Taxus that inhibit tubulin depolymerization?

• ... that Sydenham's chorea (or St. Vitus' dance) is one of the major criteria in the Jones diagnostic criteria for rheumatic fever?
• ... that rare mistargetting of somatic hypermutation is being investigated as a mechanism in the development of B-cell lymphomas?

General images –

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

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  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)
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  Infographic showing how healthcare data flows within the billing process (from Medical billing)
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  A doctor checks a patient's pulse in Meiji-era Japan. (from History of medicine)
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  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)
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  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)
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  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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  Statue of Robert Koch, father of medical bacteriology, at Robert-Koch-Platz (Robert Koch square) in Berlin (from History of medicine)
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  Mexico City epidemic of 1737, with elites calling on the Virgin of Guadalupe (from History of medicine)
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  Sometimes traditional medicines include parts of endangered species, such as the slow loris in Southeast Asia. (from Traditional medicine)
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  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)
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  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)
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  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)
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  National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, United Kingdom is a specialist neurological hospital. (from Health care)
• 
  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)
• 
  Yarrow, a medicinal plant found in human-occupied caves in the Upper Palaeolithic period (from History of medicine)
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  Health expenditure funding types (from Health insurance)
• 
  "Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East" by Florence Nightingale (from History of medicine)
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  The emergency room is often a frontline venue for the delivery of primary medical care. (from Health care)
• 
  Medicine during the First World War - medical transport (from History of medicine)
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  Health Expenditure per capita (in PPP-adjusted US$) among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
• 
  Traditional medicine in a market in Antananarivo, Madagascar (from Traditional medicine)
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  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)
• 
  American combat surgery during the Pacific War, 1943 (from History of medicine)
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  Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE). Known as the "father of medicine". (from History of medicine)
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  AMA Code of Medical Ethics (from Medical ethics)
• 
  Charite in Berlin (from History of medicine)
• 
  healthcare expenditure in Japan by age group (from Health insurance)
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  Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926), the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics (from History of medicine)
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  Galen (129–216 CE), known for his wide insights into anatomy (from History of medicine)
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  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)
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  Guy's Hospital in 1820 (from History of medicine)
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  Replica of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope of the 1670s (from History of medicine)
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  Magical stela or cippus of Horus inscribed with healing encantations (c. 332 to 280 BCE) (from History of medicine)
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  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)
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  Life Expectancy of the total population at birth among several OECD member nations. Data source: OECD's iLibrary (from Health insurance)
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  "More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette" advertisement for Camel cigarettes in the 1940s (from Medical ethics)
• 
  A cuneiform terracotta tablet describing a medicinal recipe for poisoning (c. 18th century BCE). Discovered in Nippur, Iraq.
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  Zhang Zhongjing – a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty (from History of medicine)
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  A Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet fragment describing medical text (c. 9th to 7th century BCE) (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)
• 
  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)
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  Ethical prayer for medical wisdom by Dr Edmond Fernandes (from Medical ethics)
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  Life expectancy vs healthcare spending of rich OECD countries. US average of $10,447 in 2018. (from Health care)
• 
  Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang (from Medical ethics)
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  18th-century medical remedies collected by a British Gentry family (from History of medicine)
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  American Civil War hospital at Gettysburg, 1863 (from History of medicine)
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  Sketch of Muslim physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (from History of medicine)
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  Primary care may be provided in community health centers. (from Health care)
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  Curandera performing a limpieza in Cuenca, Ecuador (from Traditional medicine)
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  The numbers of Americans lacking health insurance and the uninsured rate from 1987 to 2008 (from Health insurance)
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  A Ukrainian monument to the HIV pandemic (from History of medicine)
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  An American billing clerk preparing a detailed invoice. (1992) (from Medical billing)
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  COVID-19 swab testing in Rwanda (2021) (from History of medicine)
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  Louis Pasteur experimenting on bacteria, c. 1870 (from History of medicine)
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  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)
• 
  A 12th-century Byzantine manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath (from Medical ethics)
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  Hospital train "Therapist Matvei Mudrov" in Khabarovsk, Russia (from Health care)
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  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)
• 
  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)
• 
  Mandrake (written 'ΜΑΝΔΡΑΓΟΡΑ' in Greek capitals). Naples Dioscurides, 7th century (from History of medicine)

More Did you know (auto generated)

• ... that Mary Robertson was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science degree in medicine from the University of Cape Town?
• ... that the Noongar used the Eucalyptus wandoo tree as a medicine and ointment?
• ... that film director Orlando Bagwell initially thought that he would enter a career in medicine?
• ... 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?
• ... that Frederick Warren Freer switched from studying medicine to art after becoming partially deaf?

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