Medicine is the scientific discipline and practice of setting the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and cure of illness. Modern medicine applies many modern technologies, primarily biomedical science, anatomy, medical science, genetics, pharmacology, physiology, medical technologies, and psychology to diagnosis, treat, or prevent disease, usually through surgery or pharmacotherapy, but also through health education and public health. Since ancient times, medicine has been essential for the control and management of diseases, their consequences, and treatments for the various complications of such diseases. In modern times, medicine seeks to harmonize the entire person by integrating the physiological, mental, social, cultural, and environmental factors that affect the individual.

Despite its obvious similarities to other forms of science, medicine actually differs from these other sciences in a number of important ways. Traditional medicine, for example, seeks to treat the disease as if it were an uneventful, mechanical problem, treating what is fundamentally a physical ailment by suppressing the factors that cause it. This approach does not take into account the entire array of values and goals that are incorporated into the field of health. Unlike a classical natural medicine, which believes that disease is purely a physical problem with no emotional or social component, the field of medical science seeks to find a reason for disease and then finds ways to combat its occurrence.

The field of medicine has developed a great deal since the advent of mass-produced medicines in the 18th century. Early on, medicines were administered orally, either by mouth or by gargling. However, changes in the chemical composition of various compounds led to the development of various synthetic medicines, which were then used to fight diseases. The field of medicine saw the introduction of antibiotics as a miraculous discovery that saved countless lives all over the world. Nowadays, antibiotics are administered to battle infection of various types, both bacterial and fungal.

Antibiotics:

Antibiotics can be administered in two forms – for oral consumption as well as for intravenous use. It should be noted that in the case of oral administration, the medicine is usually mixed with a tablet. A single pill is then taken every day, usually with meals. In the case of intravenous administration, the medicine is injected directly into the body, although this method is less popular among young people who are reluctant to take drugs. Although it is very effective in fighting bacterial infections, antibiotic drugs have also been found to have detrimental effects on the liver, cardiovascular system, kidneys, nervous system and the immune system.

The process of medicine manufacturing includes the process of conversion of raw material into useful drugs. In fact, most plants require cultivation in order to produce high quality medicines. Chemical modification involves the introduction of various chemicals in order to make the medicine more active and more useful. Chemical agents can be introduced to medicine in a wide variety of ways – from introduction of new enzymes to the addition of other compounds.

Besides their primary function of preventing disease, pharmaceutical drugs are used for other purposes as well. They are used for prophylaxis of infection, to control blood glucose and to prevent disease progression in patients with AIDS or cancer. In fact, many of these medicines are now considered as a cure rather than curative drugs. This is because they stop the growth or spread of the disease and allow the patient to recover from the disease. Thus, medicines are used to fight common as well as crucial diseases.

Danny White