Medicine

Medicine It is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. The word medicine is derived from the Latin word “ars medicina”, meaning the art of healing.[1][2]

History The ancient Sumerian god Ningishzida, the patron of medicine, accompanied by two gryphons. It is the oldest known image of a caduceus, the symbol of medicine in the form of two snakes coiled around an axial rod. It dates from more than 4000 years ago Early records on medicine have been discovered from early Ayurvedic medicine in the Indian subcontinent, ancient Egyptian medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and ancient Greek medicine. Early Greek doctor Hippocrates, who is also called the Father of Medicine, and Galen laid a foundation for later developments in a rational approach to medicine. After the fall of Rome and the onset of the Dark Ages, Islamic physicians made major medical breakthroughs, supported by the translation of Hippocrates' and Galen's works into Arabic. Notable Islamic medical pioneers include polymath Avicenna, who is also called the Father of Modern Medicine, Abulcasis, the father of surgery, Avenzoar, the father of experimental surgery, Ibn al-Nafis, the father of circulatory physiology, and Averroes.[8] Rhazes, who is called the father of pediatrics, first disproved the Grecian theory of humorism, which nevertheless remained influential in Western medieval medicine. While major developments in medicine were occurring in the Islamic world during the medieval period, the Western world remained dependent upon the Greco-Roman theory of humorism, which led to questionable treatments such as bloodletting. Islamic medicine and medieval medicine collided during the crusades, with Islamic doctors receiving mixed impressions.[9] As the medieval ages ended, important early figures in medicine emerged in Europe, including Gabriele Falloppio and William Harvey. The major shift in medical thinking was the gradual rejection, especially during the Black Death in the 14th and 15th centuries, of what may be called the 'traditional authority' approach to science and medicine. Modern scientific biomedical research (where results are testable and reproducible) began to replace early Western traditions based on herbalism, the Greek "four humours" and other such pre-modern notions. The modern era really began with Robert Koch's discoveries around 1880 of the transmission of disease by bacteria, and then the discovery of antibiotics around 1900. The post-18th century modernity period brought more groundbreaking researchers from Europe. From Germany and Austrian doctors such as Rudolf Virchow, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Karl Landsteiner, and Otto Loewi) made contributions. In the United Kingdom Alexander Fleming, Joseph Lister, Francis Crick, and Florence Nightingale are considered important. From New Zealand and Australia came Maurice Wilkins, Howard Floery, and Frank Macfarlane Burnet). In the United States William Williams Keen, Harvey Cushing, William Coley, James D. Watson, Italy (Salvador Luria), Switzerland (Alexandre Yersin), Japan (Kitasato Shibasaburo), and France (Jean-Martin Charcot, Claude Bernard, Paul Broca and others did significant work. Russian (Nikolai Korotkov also did significant work, as did Sir William Osler and Harvey Cushing. As science and technology developed, medicine became more reliant upon medications. Pharmacology developed from herbalism and many drugs are still derived from plants (atropine, ephedrine, warfarin, aspirin, digoxin, vinca alkaloids, taxol, hyoscine, etc). The first of these was

arsphenamine / Salvarsan discovered by Paul Ehrlich in 1908 after he observed that bacteria took up toxic dyes that human cells did not. Vaccines were discovered by Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. The first major class of antibiotics was the sulfa drugs, derived by French chemists originally from azo dyes. This has become increasingly sophisticated; modern biotechnology allows drugs targeted towards specific physiological processes to be developed, sometimes designed for compatibility with the body to reduce side-effects. Genomics and knowledge of human genetics is having some influence on medicine, as the causative genes of most monogenic genetic disorders have now been identified, and the development of techniques in molecular biology and genetics are influencing medical technology, practice and decision-making. TYPES OF DISEASES Diseases are classified as follows:Infectious diseases Parasitic Bacterial Viral Fungal Environmental diseases Nutritional Diseases due to adverse environmental factors Other diseases Diseases connected with eggs and fry Tumors, genetic disorders

Toxemia:A medical condition that occurs when there is a release of toxins from bacteria within the bloodstream.

Causes of Toxemia Following are the causes of Toxemia 1.Septicemia 2.Bacteremia 3.Local bacterial infection - although not in the blood, the toxins from local bacteria can cause toxemia from certain infections:. Symptoms of Toxemia The symptoms are as follows.

Fever , Hypotension ,Rash ,Diarrhoea ,Vomiting ,Myalgia,Mucosal inflammation ,Disorientation ,Confusion ,Hallucination ,Tachycardia ,Pharyngitis ,Conjunctivitis ,Multisystem dysfunction Treatment of Toxemia: The list of treatments mentioned in various sources for Toxemia includes the following list. Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment or change in treatment plans. Emergency treatment Intensive care Antibiotics

Septicemia Septicemia is the presence of bacteria in the blood (bacteremia) and is often associated with severe disease. Septicemia is a serious, life-threatening infection that gets worse very quickly. It can arise from infections throughout the body, including infections in the lungs, abdomen, and urinary tract. It may come before or at the same time as infections of the bone (osteomyelitis), central nervous system (meningitis), or other tissues. Septicemia is the clinical name for blood poisoning. Septicemia that progresses to septic shock has a death rate as high as 50 percent, depending on the type of organism involved. Septicemia is a medical emergency and requires urgent medical treatment Symptoms Septicemia can begin with spiking fevers, chills, rapid breathing, and rapid heart rate. The person looks very ill. The symptoms rapidly progress to shock with decreased body temperature (hypothermia), falling blood pressure, confusion or other changes in mental status, and blood clotting problems that lead to a specific type of red spots on the skin (petechiae and ecchymosis). There may be decreased or no urine output. Diagnosis Physical examination may show: Low blood pressure Low body temperature or fever Signs of associated disease (such as meningitis, epiglottitis, pneumonia, or cellulitis) It can be confirmed by the laboratory tests Blood culture Urine culture CSF culture Culture of any suspect skin lesion CBC Platelet count Clotting studies PT PTT

Fibrinogen levels Blood gases Treatment Fluids and medicines are given by an IV to maintain the blood pressure. Oxygen will be given. Antibiotics are used to treat the infection. Plasma or other blood products may be given to correct any clotting abnormalities. Prognosis Septic shock has a high death rate, exceeding 50%, depending on the type of organism involved. The organism involved and how quickly the patient is hospitalized will determine the outcome. Possible Complications Septicemia can rapidly lead to adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic shock, and death. Septicemia associated with meningococci can lead to shock, adrenal collapse, and Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome.

Fever Fever (also known as pyrexia, from the Greek pyretos meaning fire, or a febrile response, from the Latin word febris, meaning fever, is a frequent medical sign that describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels above normal. Fever is most accurately characterized as a temporary elevation in the body's thermoregulatory set-point, usually by about 1–2 °C (1.8-3.6 °F). Fever is caused by an elevation in the thermoregulatory set-point, causing typical body temperature to rise. A feverish individual has a general feeling of cold despite an increased body temperature, and increases in heart rate, muscle tone and shivering, all of which are caused by the body's attempts to counteract the newlyperceived hypothermia and reach the new thermoregulatory set-point. Fever differs from hyperthermia in that hyperthermia is an increase in body temperature over the body's thermoregulatory set-point, due to excessive heat production or insufficient thermoregulation, or both. A fever is considered one of the body's immune mechanisms to attempt a neutralization of a perceived threat inside the body, be it bacterial or viral. Fever is not a disease, but the body's response to a disease.

Causes Fever is a common symptom of many medical conditions: Infectious disease, Immunological diseases, e.g. lupus erythematosus, Tissue destruction, which can occur in hemolysis, surgery, infarction, Drug fever

Directly caused by the drug, e.g., progesterone, or chemotherapeutics causing tumor necrosis As an adverse reaction to drugs, e.g. antibiotics or sulfa drugs. After drug discontinuation. Reaction to incompatible blood products Cancers, most commonly renal cancer and leukemia and lymphomas Metabolic disorders, e.g. gout or porphyria Thrombo-embolic processes, e.g. pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis Persistent fever which cannot be explained after repeated routine clinical inquiries, is called fever of unknown origin. Usefulness of fever Some animals they recover more rapidly from infections or critical illness due to fever. A reduced mortality was noticed in bacterial infections when fever was present. The fever can aid in host defense. Fevers may be useful to some extent since they allow the body to reach high temperatures, causing an unbearable environment for some pathogens. White blood cells also rapidly proliferate due to the suitable environment and can also help fight off the harmful pathogens and microbes that invaded the body Treatment

Fever should not necessarily be treated. Fever is an important signal that there's something wrong in the body, and it can be used to govern medical treatment and gauge its effectiveness. Moreover, not all fevers are of infectious origin. Even when treatment is not indicated, however, febrile patients are generally advised to keep themselves adequately hydrated, as the dehydration produced by a mild fever can be more dangerous than the fever itself. Water is generally used for this purpose, but there is always a small risk of hyponatremia if the patient drinks too much water. For this reason, some patients are given oral rehydration solutions. Treatment of fever is normally done by administration of antipyretics such as ibuprofen or paracetamol (US acetominophen). Aspirin can also be given to adults, Heat removal is generally by wet cloth or pads, usually applied to the forehead, but also through bathing. Heat loss may also be accomplished by heat conduction, convection, radiation, or evaporation (sweating, perspiration), or a combination of these.

Hyperthermia, is a condition in which body temperature is increased without any pathological condition and is referred to as heat stroke or sunstroke, is an acute condition which occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate. It is usually caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures. The heat-regulating mechanisms of the body eventually become overwhelmed and unable to effectively deal with the heat, causing the body temperature to climb uncontrollably. Hyperthermia is a medical emergency which requires immediate treatment.

Signs and symptoms One of the body's most important methods of temperature regulation is perspiration. This process draws heat from inside, allowing it to be carried off by radiation or convection. Evaporation of the sweat furthers cooling, since this endothermic process draws yet more heat from the body. When the body becomes sufficiently dehydrated to prevent the production of sweat this avenue of heat reduction is closed. When the body is no longer capable of sweating, core temperature begins to rise swiftly. First aid The body temperature must be lowered immediately. The patient should be moved to a cool area (indoors, or at least in the shade) and clothing removed to promote heat loss (passive cooling). Active cooling methods may be used: The animals may be bathed in cool water, wrapping the patient in wet towels or clothes can actually act as insulation and increase the body temperature. Cold compresses to the torso, head, neck, and groin will help cool the victim. A fan or dehumidifying air conditioning unit may be used to aid in evaporation of the water (evaporative method).