Health and medical
Health and Medical
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is “a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity”. A variety of
definitions have been used for different purposes over time. Health can be promoted by
encouraging healthful activities, such as regular physical exercise and adequate sleep, and by
reducing or avoiding unhealthful activities or situations, such as smoking or excessive stress.
Health, referred to the ability to maintain homeostasis and recover from adverse events.
Mental, intellectual, emotional and social health referred to a person’s ability to handle stress,
to acquire skills, to maintain relationships.
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, 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.
Prescientific forms of medicine are now known as traditional medicine or folk medicine,
which remains commonly used in the absence of scientific medicine, and are thus called
alternative medicine. Alternative treatments outside of scientific medicine having safety and
efficacy concerns are termed quackery.
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