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Medicine is an area of human knowledge concerned with restoring health. It is, in the broadest sense of the term, the science and practice of the prevention and curing of human diseases, and other ailments of the human body or mind. However, it is often used only to refer to those matters dealt with by academically trained physicians and surgeons. There are many traditional and modern methods and schools of healing which are usually not considered to be part of medicine in a strict sense.

Medicine has two aspects: both as an area of knowledge (a science), and as an application of that knowledge (the medical professions). Evidence-based medicine is an attempt to link these two aspects through the use of the scientific method and techniques derived from safety engineering.

The various specialized branches of the science of medicine correspond to equally specialized medical professions dealing with particular organs or diseases. It may therefore be difficult to distinguish clearly between the science and the profession.

The practice of medicine is more than just maintaining good health. It also includes the diagnosis and prevention of disease, the exploration and establishment of treatments and cures for illnesses and the relief of pain. The recognition that the medical field is responsible for the prevention of disease has led to better worldwide public health. Advances in sanitation and hygiene, along with the development of nutritional standards, have helped the world reduce, and in some cases, eliminate certain diseases.

Evidence of medical practice has been found in the earliest of human settlements. The individual who took the rôle of healer combined religion with their primitive knowledge of science and created rituals to aid in healing. Information such as incantations, magical spells and the knowledge of which plants had healing properties was usually passed down from generation to generation.

The man regarded as the father of "modern" medicine was Hippocrates, a Greek scholar who is best known for setting forth principles that he believed healers should follow, including the belief that a physician should work not for personal gain but for the love of humanity. His guidelines for a physician's conduct became known as the Hippocratic Oath, which newly graduated physicians still swear to.

Up to the 20th century, most physicians were general practitioners, serving all the medical needs of their communities. The first area of specialization in medicine was surgery. As technological and scientific advances deepened our understanding of health and the human body, more specialized services became practical.

In North America (U.S. and Canada), there are 23 distinct areas of medical division, which fall under the broader categories of nonsurgical, surgical and hospital-based specialties. Some of the divisions, such as surgical specialties, internal medicine and pediatrics, have subcategories within the division that require additional training even beyond the medical school basics.

The nonsurgical specialties involve direct patient care and include, but are not limited to:

• internal medicine, which is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of adults with diseases of the internal organs. Many doctors of internal medicine (internists) specialize in a specific area of the body;
• preventive medicine, which involves studying disease prevention and improving the overall level of health in a community;
• pediatrics, which is basically internal medicine, but focuses on the care of infants, children and adolescents;
• psychiatry, which is concerned with brain functions such as behavior, mood, and intelligence. Psychiatrists treat patients with nonorganic diseases (those in which functional problems are present, but no anatomical or chemical basis for the problem is found) in the brain;
• neurology, which deals with organic diseases (those in which the cause of the disease can be observed or identified chemically) in the central nervous system, which includes the brain;
• immunology, which focuses on patients with immune system problems such as during organ transplants and those patients whose bodies cannot manufacture various components of their immune systems;
• and treatment of allergies, which deals with hypersensitivity disorders such as asthma and food or airborne allergies.

The surgical specialties are involved in the treatment of conditions that can't be cured by anything but operative intervention - a fancy way of saying surgery. Although a general surgeon will graduate from medical school with all the skills and techniques needed for most surgical problems, there are specialized practices. Some of the surgical specialties are:

• general surgery, which deals with most surgical problems, focusing mainly on the abdomen and its contents;
• orthopedic, which was initially concerned with the correction of childhood deformities, but has widened to include diseases of the bone, joints, and muscles, amputations and the fitting of prosthetics (artificial limbs);
• urological, which treats surgical diseases and/or medical conditions of the kidneys, the urinary tract and the male genital system;
• otolaryngological, which focuses on the ear, the nose and sinuses, and the throat and its related structures;
• neurological, which deals with surgical problems of the spinal column, the brain, the peripheral nervous system and tissues, including blood vessels;
• thoracic, which concerns pulmonary diseases, such as lung cancer, complications from diseases such as tuberculosis and abscesses;
• plastic surgery, which seeks to improve body function by treating disfigurements and defects from birth or accidents or disease. Cosmetic surgery is performed to improve appearance;
• Obstetrics and gynecology, which is the care of women before, during, and after childbirth and the treatment of problems of the female genital tract. These are a combination of general medicine and surgery, but are categorized as surgical specialties.

The most visible hospital-based specialties are those of anesthesiology (administering anesthesia, which makes a patient unconscious during surgery) and emergency medicine. The specialist who works in a hospital usually works together with a patient's physician in providing surgical and rehabilitative care. Other hospital-based specialties include:

• pathology, which is the study of tissues or body fluids for abnormal conditions or disease;
• radiology, which uses radiation techniques like X-rays to diagnose many diseases and bone trauma and to treat malignant tumors. Diagnostic radiology is being replaced by diagnostic imaging, which uses techniques like magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonic sound waves to create images of internal tissues;
• physical and occupational therapy, which are used to rehabilitate a patient who has had an injury or illness.

Modern medicine has moved forward rapidly following the advances of science and technology. The quality of life and the longevity of humans have increased beyond what was imaginable even a century ago. Many diseases that were once life threatening have been either eliminated or rendered to mere inconveniences with the right medical treatment.

Human anatomy (or anthropotomy) is a special field within anatomy (the study of the shape, form, consistency, and organization of plants and animals). It studies organs and organ systems of the human body. The human body, like the bodies of all animals, is made up of systems, that are made up of organs, that are made up of tissues, that are made up of cells. Anatomy embraces morphology (study of the external features of living organisms), and applies also to the internal features of organs, skeletons, and even cellular detail. Anatomy has been studied by means of dissection, while modern non-destructive means of studying internal structures include body-scanners and x-rays.