Internal Medicine - Internist
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Internal Medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases affecting the internal organs of the body, especially in adults.
"Internal Medicine" is a term that comes from the German term Innere Medizin, a method of combining the science of the laboratory with the care of patients, practiced by medical doctors in Germany in the late 19th century.
Internists are physicians (medical doctors) who practice internal medicine and are referred to by several terms including "general internists" and "doctors of internal medicine". Internists treat the whole person, not just internal organs and may act as primary care physicians.
Internists should not to be confused with "interns," who are medical doctors in their first year of residency training.
Internists may also "subspecialize" in additional areas of internal medicine and focus their practice on their particular subspecialty.
There are several subspecialties of internal medicine, which include, but are not limited to:
Adolescent medicine Allergy and immunology Cardiology (heart) Endocrinology (diabetes and other glandular disorders) Gastroenterology (colon and intestinal tract) Geriatrics (care of the elderly) Hematology (blood) Infectious disease Nephrology (kidneys) Oncology (cancer) Pulmonology (lungs) Rheumatology (arthritis) Sports medicine
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