Endocrinology

Endocrinology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the endocrine system and its specific secretions called hormones.

Endocrinology is concerned with the study of the biosynthesis, storage, chemistry, and physiological function of hormones and with the cells of the endocrine glands and tissues that secrete them.

For more information about the topic Endocrinology, read the full articles at Wikipedia.org.

Cardiology

Cardiology is the branch of internal medicine dealing with disorders of the heart and blood vessels. The field is commonly divided in the branches of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. Physicians specializing in this field of medicine are called cardiologists. Cardiologists should not be confused with cardiac surgeons who are surgeons who perform cardiac surgery - operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.

For more information about the topic Cardiology, read the full articles at Wikipedia.org.

Gerontology

Gerontology is the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging. It is distinguished from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that studies the disease of the elderly.

Gerontology includes these and other endeavors:

• studying physical, mental, and social changes in people as they age;
• investigating the aging process itself (biogerontology);
• investigating the interface of normal aging and age-related disease (geroscience);
• investigating the effects of our aging population on society, including the fiscal effects of pensions, entitlements, life and health insurance, and retirement planning;
• applying this knowledge to policies and programs, including a macroscopic (i.e. government planning) and microscopic (i.e. running a nursing home) perspective.

The multidisciplinary focus of gerontology means that there are a number of sub-fields, as well as associated fields such as psychology and sociology that also cross over into gerontology. However, that there is an overlap should not be taken as to construe that they are the same. For example, a psychologist may specialize in early adults (and not be a gerontologist) or specialize in older adults (and be a gerontologist).

Surgery

Surgery, branch of medicine concerned with treatment of diseases, deformities, and injuries through manual procedures called operations. Surgery can be used to repair broken bones, stop uncontrolled bleeding, remove injured or diseased tissue and organs, and reattach severed limbs. Exploratory surgery helps physicians diagnose conditions that cannot be detected by traditional tests. It allows for examination of internal organs for signs of disease.

People have practiced surgery since ancient times, but it did not become a respected science until the 19th century. Increasing knowledge of the human body, the discovery of anesthesia (a loss of physical sensation that can be induced with drugs), and the use of germ-free, or sterile, operating procedures combined to make surgery a safe and effective method of medical treatment. In the 20th century advances in technology have helped the field of surgery grow at a rapid pace.

Surgery is performed by specially trained medical physicians known as surgeons. General surgery training and training in some surgical specialties, such as neurosurgery, which concerns the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, and orthopedic surgery, which repairs the bones and joints, is conducted in association with a hospital and usually lasts from five to seven years. At the end of this period, known as a residency, the general surgeon may receive further training to learn the skills of a particular specialty, or subdivision, of surgery. Surgical subdivisions include, for example, thoracic surgery, which is concerned with diseases of the chest; vascular surgery, which corrects diseases of blood vessels; plastic surgery, which reconstructs or cosmetically improves features of the body; and pediatric surgery, which is concerned with operations on children.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy, examination of internal body cavities using a specialized medical instrument called an endoscope. Physicians use endoscopy to diagnose, monitor, and surgically treat various medical problems.

An endoscope is a slender, flexible tube equipped with lenses and a light source. It contains glass fibers that transmit light to illuminate the body part being viewed and fibers that reflect an image of the body part back to the viewer. The endoscope also has a channel through which surgeons can manipulate tiny instruments, such as forceps, surgical scissors, and suction devices. A surgeon introduces the endoscope into the body either through a body opening, such as the mouth or the anus, or through a small incision in the skin.

During the endoscopic procedure, the surgeon may perform several tasks. The surgeon may look for visual evidence of the problem, such as ulceration or inflammation; collect a sample of tissue; remove problematic tissue, such as polyps; or photograph the area being examined. Most endoscopic procedures are normally done with the patient lightly anesthetized.

The term endoscopy is both a general and a specialized term. As a specialized term it refers to endoscopic examination of the gastrointestinal tract. As a generalized term, endoscopy refers to examination of a wide variety of body parts. Depending on the body part, each type of endoscopy has its own special term, such as laparoscopy (abdomen), laryngoscopy (vocal cords), bronchoscopy (lungs), colonoscopy (colon), and arthroscopy (joint).