This document provides definitions and overviews of various medical specialties, including pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, gynecology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, dermatology, urology, traumatology, radiology, cardiology, neurology, and legal medicine. Each section defines the specialty and discusses some of its key areas of focus or common procedures and diagnostic techniques.

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2. PEDIATRIC… Your child's health includes physical, mental and social well-being. Most parents know the basics of keeping children healthy, like offering them healthy foods, making sure they get enough sleep and exercise and insuring their safety. Definition: A medical specialty concerned with maintaining health and providing medical care to children from birth to adolescence. Kids are not just little adults. Dealing with a disease or disorder in children will often have unique approaches and challenges. It is recommended that care, or at least a second opinion, be obtained from a physician specially trained to treat such a condition in the pediatric population. Often a pediatrician does not see enough cases (especially with rare diagnoses) to be aware of the best or most current treatment options.

3. SURGERY… Every year more than 15 million people in the U.S. have surgery. There are many reasons to have surgery. Some operations can relieve or prevent pain. Others can reduce a symptom of a problem or improve some body function. Some surgeries are done to find a problem. For example, a surgeon may do a biopsy, which involves removing a piece of tissue to examine under a microscope. Some surgeries, like heart surgery, can save your life. In recent years there have been many advances in surgery. Not long ago, all surgeries involved cutting with a scalpel. Today, some surgeries are done with lasers. Some operations that once needed large incisions - cuts in the body - can now be done using much smaller incisions.

4. INTERNAL MEDICINE… Internal medicine: A medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment of adults. A physician who specializes in internal medicine is referred to as an internist. A minimum of seven years of medical school and postgraduate training are focused on learning the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases of adults. Subspecialties of internal medicine include allergy and immunology, cardiology (heart), endocrinology (hormone disorders), hematology (blood disorders), infectious diseases, gastroenterology (diseases of the gut), nephrology (kidney diseases), oncology (cancer), pulmonology (lung disorders), and rheumatology (arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders).

5. GYNECOLOGY… Definition: The branch of medicine particularly concerned with the health of the female organs of reproduction and diseases thereof. The word "gynecology" comes from the Greek gyno, gynaikos meaning woman + logia meaning study, so gynecology literally is the study of women. However, these days gynecology does not address all of women's medicine but focuses on disorders of the female reproductive organs.

6. OPHTHALMOLOGY… Definition: The art and science of eye medicine. Some eye problems are minor and fleeting. But some lead to a permanent loss of vision. Common eye problems include: Cataracts,Glaucoma,Retinal disorders, Conjunctivitis. Your best defense is to have regular checkups, because eye diseases do not always have symptoms. Early detection and treatment could prevent vision loss. See an eye care professional right away if you have a sudden change in vision or everything looks dim or if you see flashes of light. Other symptoms that need quick attention are pain, double vision, fluid coming from the eye and inflammation.

7. GASTROENTEROLOGY… Definition: The medical specialty devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the digestive system. These disorders may affect the esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon), rectum, liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. Gastroenterology is popularly (and incorrectly) known as "GI" (which stands for gastrointestinal).

8. DERMATOLOGY… Definition: The branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the skin, hair, nails, oral cavity and genitals.Dermatology is literally the study of the skin. Skin Conditions. Also called: Cutaneous disorders, Dermatologic disorders Conditions that irritate, clog or inflame your skin can cause symptoms such as redness, swelling, burning and itching. Allergies, irritants, your genetic makeup and certain diseases and immune system problems can cause dermatitis, hives and other skin conditions. Many skin problems, such as acne, also affect your appearance.

9. UROLOGY… Urology is a surgical specialty which deals with diseases of the male and female urinary tract and the male reproductive organs. Although urology is classified as a surgical specialty, a knowledge of internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology and other specialties is required by the urologist because of the wide variety of clinical problems encountered. In recognition of the wide scope of urology, the American Urological Association has identified seven subspecialty areas: Pediatric Urology Urologic Oncology (cancer) Renal Transplantation Male Infertility Calculi (urinary tract stones) Female Urology (urinary incontinence and pelvic outlet relaxation disorders) Neurourology (voiding disorders, urodynamic evaluation of patients, and erectile dysfunction or impotence).

10. TRAUMATOLOGY… Definition: The branch of surgery that deals with trauma patients and their injuries. Patients who have suffered significant physical trauma, as from a car accident, may be cared for in a trauma center, a specialized hospital facility designed to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services for trauma. "Trauma" is the Greek word for "a wound" (and for "damage or defeat").

11. RADIOLOGY… Definition: The branch of medicine that uses ionizing and nonionizing radiation for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Historically, radiology involved the use of ionizing radiation including X rays for the diagnosis of disease and X rays and gamma rays for the treatment of disease. More recently, radiology has also embraced the use of radioactive isotopes and of nonionizing radiation such as ultrasound waves and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Radiology is also known as roentgenology after Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen who discovered X-rays in 1895.

12. CARDIOLOGY… Cardiology is the diagnosis and management of diseases which affect the heart and circulatory system. Cardiologists conduct investigations and help patients to manage a variety of heart disorders including rhythm disturbances, arterial blockages, angina, heart attacks, heart failure, and valvular heart disease. Routine physical examinations may reveal irregularities. Chest discomfort or palpitations are usually the first critical symptoms that lead patients to cardiologists. Generally, cardiac evaluation begins with a complete history and physical examination. An electrocardiogram, chest X–ray and blood tests are performed. 24 hour ambulatory monitoring, exercise stress testing, nuclear cardiac studies, echocardiography and cardiac catheterization procedures may be recommended.

13. NEUROLOGY… Definition: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system -- the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves. Knowledge of the brain and nervous functions came from studies of animals and the analysis of human nerve cells under the microscope. The diagnosis of neurological disease was improved by the invention in the 1920s of the electroencephalograph (EEG) to record electrical brain activity. Next came the development of cerebral angiography to see the blood vessels in the brain. The invention of computerized axial tomography (the CAT scan) in the early 1970s and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging in the 1980s permitted detailed noninvasive views of the brain.

14. LEGAL MEDICINE… Legal medicine: The branch of medicine that deals with the application of medical knowledge to legal problems and legal proceedings. Legal medicine is also called forensic medicine. A physician may be engaged in legal (or forensic) medicine while a lawyer with identical interests is said to be in medical jurisprudence. It just depends upon the direction you are coming from.