Internal medicine

Internal medicine is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of internal diseases, that is, those that affect internal organs or the body as a whole. A physician who practices internal medicine is called an internist in some countries.

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It is hard to define the boundaries between internal medicine and several other specialties. In fact, in some countries all non-surgical specialties are grouped conveniently with "internal medicine".

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In the USA, there is some overlap between internal medicine and primary care (or family medicine), which is often practiced by internists.

Related Topics:
USA - Primary care

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In the UK, the specialty is still referred to as general medicine (although the combination general (internal) medicine can be found increasingly), and its practitioners are physicians or hospital physicians as distinct from surgeons.

Related Topics:
UK - Surgeons

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