Medicine

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Medicine is the science that deals with diseases (illnesses) in humans, the best ways to prevent diseases, and the best ways to return to a healthy condition.

People who practice medicine are most often called medical doctors / physicians (the words mean the same) or surgeons. For their work, doctors are assisted by nurses and many other types of health care professionals.

The word medicine can also mean special food or a chemical that makes someone better when they are ill. A lot of medicines are liquid and can be bought in a small bottle. The doctor may tell the patient (person who is ill) how many spoonfuls to take each day. Most medicines cannot be bought unless the doctor has "prescribed" the medicine for the patient. The doctor writes a "prescription" which the patient takes to the chemist (or "pharmacist") who gives him the medicine.


This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.