medical cannabis, herbal drug derived from plants of the genus Cannabis that is used as part of the treatment for a specific symptom or disease. Although the term cannabis refers specifically to the plant genus, it is also used interchangeably with marijuana, which describes the crude drug isolated

medicine: …concerned with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease.

health maintenance organization: …group practice model and the medical care foundation (MCF), also called individual practice association. The prepaid group practice type of health care plan was pioneered by the Ross-Loos Medical Group in California, U.S., in 1929. In this model, physicians are organized into a group practice, and there is one insuring…

chemical castration, the use of drugs to suppress the production of sex hormones. Chemical castration differs from surgical castration in that it is reversible and its effects typically stop when the drugs are ceased. Chemical castration is used in the treatment of certain types of cancer, and in

diagnosis: Physical examination: The physical examination continues the diagnostic process, adding information obtained by inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. When data accumulated from the history and physical examination are complete, a working diagnosis is established, and tests are selected that will help to retain…

alchemy: Latin alchemy: Medical chemistry may have been conceived under Islam, but it was born in Europe. It only awaited christening by its great publicist, Paracelsus (1493–1541), who was the sworn enemy of the malpractices of 16th-century medicine and a vigorous advocate of “folk” and “chemical” remedies. By…

Tulane University, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. It grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through 11 schools and colleges. In addition to the main campus, there is the campus of Tulane Medical Center, which includes the

Virginia Commonwealth University: …School of Medicine on the Medical College of Virginia campus (also in Richmond). The university offers a broad range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in such areas as business, dentistry, education, health care, pharmacy, and social work. The school is a Carnegie Foundation research university; its academic and…

Marquette University: …in 1970 it became the Medical College of Wisconsin. Total enrollment is about 11,000.

Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR), group of health care activists whose work in the late 1960s and early 1970s drew attention to inequities in health care in the United States. The MCHR was a part of the larger civil rights movement in the United States. It was formed in the summer of 1964,

medical jurisprudence: …common source of conflict is medical confidentiality. Some doctors claim that any information received from a patient during a medical consultation is subject ethically to absolute confidentiality and can in no circumstances be revealed without the patient’s permission. Without such a rule, they believe, patients sometimes would not give doctors…

medicine: Military practice: The medical services of armies, navies, and air forces are geared to war. During campaigns the first requirement is the prevention of sickness. In all wars before the 20th century, many more combatants died of disease than of wounds. And even in World War II and…

medical education: Requirements for practice: In Canada the Medical Council of Canada conducts examinations and enrolls successful candidates on the Canadian medical register, which the provincial governments accept as the main requirement for licensure. In Britain the medical register is kept by the General Medical Council, which supervises the licensing bodies; unregistered practice,…

silicone breast implant: Safety issues and regulation: Known as the Medical Devices Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, this law required only that new devices be subjected to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Thus, the safety of silicone breast implants, as well as all other medical devices in…

medical education, course of study directed toward imparting to persons seeking to become physicians the knowledge and skills required for the prevention and treatment of disease. It also develops the methods and objectives appropriate to the study of the still unknown factors that produce disease

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: …foundation’s first study, Abraham Flexner’s Medical Education in the United States and Canada (1910), forged a new consensus about what constituted quality medical education, leading to the closing of poorly funded and understaffed institutions. But its impacts were not all positive; the pressures brought by Flexner’s report forced the closing…

bioengineering: Branches of bioengineering: >Medical engineering. Medical engineering concerns the application of engineering principles to medical problems, including the replacement of damaged organs, instrumentation, and the systems of health care, including diagnostic applications of computers. Agricultural engineering. This includes the application of engineering principles to the problems of biological…

ethics: Abortion, euthanasia, and the value of human life: …with the endpoints of the human life span. The question of whether abortion or the use of human embryos as sources of stem cells can be morally justified was exhaustively discussed in popular contexts, where the answer was often taken to depend directly on the answer to the further question:…

diagnosis: Physical examination: The physical examination continues the diagnostic process, adding information obtained by inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. When data accumulated from the history and physical examination are complete, a working diagnosis is established, and tests are selected that will help to retain…

medical examiner, any physician who is charged with the diligent investigation and rigorous examination of the body of a person who has died a sudden, unnatural, unexpected, unexplained, or suspicious death, including those that may have been precipitated by physical or chemical trauma. Serving

eugenics: The new eugenics: Medical genetics, a post-World War II medical specialty, encompasses a wide range of health concerns, from genetic screening and counseling to fetal gene manipulation and the treatment of adults suffering from hereditary disorders. Because certain diseases (e.g., hemophilia and Tay-Sachs disease) are now known to…

geography: Human geography: Medical geography focuses on patterns of disease and death—of how diseases spread, for example, and how variations in morbidity and mortality rates reflect local environments—and on geographies of health care provision.

diagnosis: Medical history: The medical history of a patient is the most useful and important element in making an accurate diagnosis, much more valuable than either physical examinations or diagnostic tests. The medical interview is the process of gathering data that will lead to an understanding…

diagnostic imaging, the use of electromagnetic radiation and certain other technologies to produce images of internal structures of the body for the purpose of accurate diagnosis. Diagnostic imaging is roughly equivalent to radiology, the branch of medicine that uses radiation to diagnose and treat

Benjamin Rush: His Medical Inquiries and Observations upon the Diseases of the Mind, published in 1812, was the first and for many years the only American treatise on psychiatry.

health insurance: …limited or comprehensive range of medical services and may provide for full or partial payment of the costs of specific services. Benefits may consist of the right to certain medical services or reimbursement to the insured for specified medical costs. Some types of health insurance may also include income benefits…

military intelligence: Medical: Medical intelligence is gained from studying every aspect of foreign natural and built environments that could affect the health of military forces. This information can be used not only to predict the medical weaknesses of an enemy but also to provide one’s own forces…

CARE: …services also have included the Medical International Cooperation Organization (MEDICO; founded 1958), which gives health care workers training for service to remote rural areas.

CARE: …services also have included the Medical International Cooperation Organization (MEDICO; founded 1958), which gives health care workers training for service to remote rural areas.

medical jurisprudence, science that deals with the relation and application of medical facts to legal problems. Medical persons giving legal evidence may appear before courts of law, administrative tribunals, inquests, licensing agencies, boards of inquiry or certification, or other investigative

The use of medical marijuana dates to ancient civilizations, though historians are undecided about whether the first medical use of cannabis was in China, where the plant is indigenous. Archaeologists unearthed traces of cannabis with high levels of THC (the main psychoactive component of cannabis)

medical cannabis, herbal drug derived from plants of the genus Cannabis that is used as part of the treatment for a specific symptom or disease. Although the term cannabis refers specifically to the plant genus, it is also used interchangeably with marijuana, which describes the crude drug isolated

Major Supreme Court Cases from the 2024–25 Term: Medical Marijuana v. Horn: Argued on October 15, 2024. In September 2012 Douglas Horn, a commercial truck driver who suffered chronic pain and inflammation resulting from a trucking accident earlier that year, began using Dixie X, a cannabidiol (CBD)-based medication widely used as a pain…

recreation therapy: Models of recreation therapy: For example, the medical model assumes that growth and development are predictable biological processes. This model holds that there is a “normal” and an “abnormal” way to grow and develop and that health represents an absence of illness or symptoms while illness represents a breakdown of biological processes.…

Ivan Illich: …medical establishment, laid out in Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health (1975), were equally radical. He disputed the notion that modern medicine had led to an overall reduction in human suffering and asserted that humanity was, in fact, afflicted with an ever-increasing number of ailments caused by medical interventions. Furthermore,…

Isaac Newton Kerlin: …Persons (now known as the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities). Kerlin would serve as the secretary-treasurer of that organization for the next 16 years, publishing and disseminating the proceedings of the group’s annual meetings. After the deaths of Samuel Gridley Howe in 1876 and Séguin in 1880, Kerlin…

medicine, the practice concerned with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease. The World Health Organization at its 1978 international conference held in the Soviet Union produced the Alma-Ata Health Declaration, which was designed to serve governments as a

animal disease: Animals in research: the biomedical model: What do you think? Explore the ProCon debate

Sydney Brenner: …Brenner began work with the Medical Research Council (MRC) in England. He later directed the MRC’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology (1979–86) and Molecular Genetics Unit (1986–91). In 1996 he founded the California-based Molecular Sciences Institute, and in 2000 Brenner accepted the position of distinguished research professor at the Salk Institute…

medicine: …concerned with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease.

almoner: …in 1964 by the title medical social worker, the term also used in the United States. Medical social workers are employed by hospitals and public health departments.

medicine: Administration of primary health care: …of a patient to a specialist. If a patient has problems with vision, he goes to an eye specialist, and if he has a pain in his chest (which he fears is due to his heart), he goes to a heart specialist. One objection to this plan is that the…

history of technology: Pharmaceuticals and medical technology: An even more dramatic result of the growth in chemical knowledge was the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry. The science of pharmacy emerged slowly from the traditional empiricism of the herbalist, but by the end of the 19th century there had been some…

medical tourism, international travel for the purpose of receiving medical care. Many patients engage in medical tourism because the procedures they seek can be performed in other countries at relatively low cost and without the delay and inconvenience of being placed on a waiting list. In

medical tourism, international travel for the purpose of receiving medical care. Many patients engage in medical tourism because the procedures they seek can be performed in other countries at relatively low cost and without the delay and inconvenience of being placed on a waiting list. In

hazardous-waste management: Hazardous-waste characteristics: …used bandages, hypodermic needles, and other materials from hospitals or biological research facilities.

American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), professional and advocacy organization that serves as a vehicle for protecting the interests and advancing the careers of female physicians. The association is also committed to serving female medical students. It has a membership of some 10,000 and

materials science: General requirements of biomaterials: Indeed, a “medical-grade” biomaterial is one that has had nonessential additives and potential contaminants excluded or eliminated from the polymer. In order to achieve this grade, the polymer may need to be solvent-extracted before use, thereby eliminating low-molecular-weight materials. Generally, additives in polymers are regarded with extreme…

motor vehicle insurance: …theft or many other causes; medical-payment insurance covers medical treatment for the policyholder and his passengers.

pharmaceutical, substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease and for restoring, correcting, or modifying organic functions. (See also pharmaceutical industry.) Records of medicinal plants and minerals date to ancient Chinese, Hindu, and Mediterranean civilizations. Ancient

Medicare and Medicaid, two U.S. government programs that guarantee health insurance for the elderly and the poor, respectively. They were formally enacted in 1965 as amendments (Titles XVIII and XIX, respectively) to the Social Security Act (1935) and went into effect in 1966. The Medicare program

Mehmet Oz: Politics: Senate campaign: …his pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 3, 2025 in a 53–45 party-line vote. The agency is involved with providing healthcare to almost 50 percent of the U.S. population.

Claude Pepper: …in the passage of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (1988). He received the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, five days before his death.

George W. Bush: Medicare: …Congressional approval of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), a reform of the federally sponsored health insurance program for elderly Americans. Widely recognized as the most far-reaching overhaul of Medicare to date, the MMA enabled Medicare enrollees to obtain prescription drug coverage from Medicare through private insurance companies, which then received…

Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage for anyone age 65 and older who is enrolled in Medicare. Alongside Part A for hospital expenses and Part B for outpatient services, Part D is an important component of health care for millions of older adults. Prescription drugs often make up a

George W. Bush: Medicare: …Congressional approval of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), a reform of the federally sponsored health insurance program for elderly Americans. Widely recognized as the most far-reaching overhaul of Medicare to date, the MMA enabled Medicare enrollees to obtain prescription drug coverage from Medicare through private insurance companies, which then received…

drug, any chemical substance that affects the functioning of living things and the organisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that infect them. Pharmacology, the science of drugs, deals with all aspects of drugs in medicine, including their mechanism of action, physical and chemical

medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), intervention used in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), a condition characterized by addiction to opioid drugs. Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) can reduce opioid use and cravings, improve social functioning, and reduce the risk of death

Medici Chapel, chapel housing monuments to members of the Medici family, in the New Sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. The funereal monuments were commissioned in 1520 by Pope Clement VII (formerly Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici), executed largely by Michelangelo from 1520 to 1534, and

Jupiter: The Galilean satellites: Galileo proposed that the four Jovian moons he discovered in 1610 be named the Medicean stars, in honour of his patron, Cosimo II de’ Medici, but they soon came to be known as the Galilean satellites in honour of their discoverer. Galileo regarded…

Medicean-Laurentian Library, collection of books and manuscripts gathered during the 15th century in Florence by Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent, both members of the Medici family. Part of the collection was open to the public before 1494, but in that year the Medici were overthrown

Medici Chapel, chapel housing monuments to members of the Medici family, in the New Sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. The funereal monuments were commissioned in 1520 by Pope Clement VII (formerly Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici), executed largely by Michelangelo from 1520 to 1534, and

Medici family, Italian bourgeois family that ruled Florence and, later, Tuscany during most of the period from 1434 to 1737, except for two brief intervals (from 1494 to 1512 and from 1527 to 1530). It provided the Roman Catholic Church with four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI) and

cortile: …examples are those of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, both of the late 15th century. The cortile of the Pitti Palace (1560) is one of the most important examples of Mannerist architecture in Florence.

Medici porcelain, first European soft-paste porcelain, made in Florence between about 1575 and 1587 in workshops under the patronage of Francis I (Francesco de’ Medici). It is thought that the body of Medici porcelain consists of glass, powdered rock crystal, and sand, as well as clay from Vicenza

Alessandro was the first duke of Florence (1532–37). Alessandro was born to unmarried parents. His paternity is ascribed either to Lorenzo de’ Medici (1492–1519), duke of Urbino, or, with more likelihood, to Giulio de’ Medici, nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Giulio became a cardinal and in 1519

Leo XI was the pope from April 1–27, 1605. Pope Gregory XIII made him bishop of Pistoia, Italy, in 1573, archbishop of Florence in 1574, and cardinal in 1583. He was elected to succeed Clement VIII on April 1,

Catherine de’ Medici was the queen consort of Henry II of France (reigned 1547–59) and subsequently regent of France (1560–74), who was one of the most influential personalities of the Catholic–Huguenot wars. Three of her sons were kings of France: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. Catherine

Cosimo I was the second duke of Florence (1537–74) and first grand duke of Tuscany (1569–74). Cosimo was the great-great-grandson of Lorenzo the Elder, the son of Giovanni di Bicci and brother of Cosimo the Elder, and was thus a member of a branch of the Medici family that had taken an active part

Cosimo de’ Medici was the founder of one of the main lines of the Medici family that ruled Florence from 1434 to 1537. The son of Giovanni di Bicci (1360–1429), Cosimo was initiated into affairs of high finance in the corridors of the Council of Constance, where he represented the Medici bank. He

Cosimo II was the fourth grand duke of Tuscany (1609–20), who closed down the Medici family’s practice of banking and commerce, which it had pursued for four centuries. Cosimo II succeeded his father, Ferdinand I, in 1609; and, guided by his mother, Christine of Lorraine, and by Belisario Vinta, he

Cosimo III was the sixth grand duke of Tuscany, who reigned for 53 years (1670–1723), longer than any other Medici, but under whom Tuscany’s power declined drastically. Though Cosimo III traveled widely and spent money generously (in particular for the benefit of the church), he had a reserved

Francis (I) was the second grand duke (granduca) of Tuscany, a tool of the Habsburgs and father of Marie de Médicis, wife of Henry IV of France. He was appointed head of government in 1564 while his father, Cosimo I, was still alive; and he succeeded his father as grand duke in 1574. The title was

Gian Gastone was the last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany (1723–37). His father, Cosimo III, had passed his 80th year at the time of his death, and thus Gian Gastone succeeded at a late age, 53—in bad health, worn out by dissipation, and possessing neither ambition nor aptitude for rule. The

Pius IV was an Italian pope (1559–65) who reconvened and concluded the Council of Trent. A canon lawyer, in 1545 he was ordained and consecrated archbishop of Ragusa and in 1547 was appointed papal vice legate for Bologna. He was made cardinal priest in 1549. After a long conclave Giovanni was

Giovanni de’ Medici was the most noted soldier of all the Medici. Giovanni belonged to the younger, or cadet, branch of the Medici, descended from Lorenzo, brother to Cosimo the Elder. Always in obscurity and, until the 16th century, held in check by the elder line, this branch first entered the

Leo X was one of the leading Renaissance popes (reigned 1513–21). He made Rome a cultural center and a political power, but he depleted the papal treasury, and, by failing to take the developing Protestant Reformation seriously, he contributed to the dissolution of the Western church. Leo

Giuliano de’ Medici, duc de Nemours was the ruler of Florence from 1512 to 1513, after the Medici were restored to power. The republicans of Florence, with the aid of the French, had driven out Giuliano’s brother Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1494. The republicans, however, fought among

Clement VII was the pope from 1523 to 1534. An illegitimate son of Giuliano de’ Medici (not to be confused with Giuliano de’ Medici, duc de Nemours, his cousin), he was reared by his uncle Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was made archbishop of Florence and cardinal in 1513 by his cousin Pope Leo X,

Ippolito de’ Medici was an Italian cardinal and one of the pawns in the civil strife of Florence in the 1520s and 1530s. Only seven years of age on the death of his natural father, Giuliano de’ Medici, duc de Nemours, Ippolito was cared for by his uncle Pope Leo X, who, however, died just five

Giovanni de’ Medici was the most noted soldier of all the Medici. Giovanni belonged to the younger, or cadet, branch of the Medici, descended from Lorenzo, brother to Cosimo the Elder. Always in obscurity and, until the 16th century, held in check by the elder line, this branch first entered the

Lorenzino de’ Medici was the assassin of Alessandro, duke of Florence. Lorenzino was one of the more-noted writers of the Medici family; he was the son of one Pierfrancesco of a younger, cadet branch of the Medici. Lorenzino was a writer of considerable elegance, the author of several plays, one of

Lorenzo de’ Medici was a Florentine statesman, ruler, and patron of arts and letters, the most brilliant of the Medici. He ruled Florence with his younger brother, Giuliano (1453–78), from 1469 to 1478 and, after the latter’s assassination, was the sole ruler from 1478 to 1492. Upon the death of

Sandro Botticelli: Secular patronage and works of Sandro Botticelli: …Medici family, in particular of Lorenzo de’ Medici and his brother Giuliano, who then dominated Florence. Botticelli painted a portrait of Giuliano and posthumous portraits of his grandfather Cosimo and father Piero. Portraits of all four Medici appear as the Three Magi and an attendant figure in the Adoration of…

Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici, duca di Urbino was the ruler of Florence from 1513 to 1519, to whom Niccolò Machiavelli addressed his treatise The Prince, counselling him to accomplish the unity of Italy by arming the whole nation and expelling its foreign invaders. Lorenzo’s father, Piero, son of

Italy: The Vienna settlement: …of a government led by Luigi de’ Medici, who absorbed part of Murat’s capable bureaucracy. Many judicial and administrative reforms of the French era survived, but concessions made to the church in a concordat concluded in 1818, as well as financial retrenchment, hampered the progress of the bourgeoisie. Especially among…

Marie de Médicis was the queen consort of King Henry IV of France (reigned 1589–1610) and, from 1610 to 1614, regent for her son, King Louis XIII (reigned 1610–43). Marie was the daughter of Francesco de’ Medici, grand duke of Tuscany, and Joanna of Austria. Shortly after Henry IV divorced his

art collection: …notable example of this was Maria Ludovica, the grand duchess of Tuscany and last of the Medicis, who in 1737 bequeathed her family’s vast art holdings to the state of Tuscany; they now form the core of the Uffizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace, and the Laurentian Library in Florence. Maria…

Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici was the ruler of Florence for five years (1464–69), whose successes in war helped preserve the enormous prestige bequeathed by his father, Cosimo the Elder. Afflicted by gout (a hereditary ailment of the Medici), Piero was so badly crippled that he was often able to use

Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici was the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent who ruled in Florence for only two years (1492–94) before being expelled. Upon the death of his father, Piero came to power at age 21 without difficulty. He was endowed with beautiful features and proved to be a good soldier, but he

Italy: Florence in the 14th century: In June of that year Salvestro de’ Medici, in an attempt to preserve his own power in government, stirred up the lower orders to attack the houses of his enemies among the patriciate. That action, coming at a time when large numbers of ex-soldiers were employed in the cloth industry,…

Villa Medici, (c. 1540), important example of Mannerist architecture designed by Annibale Lippi and built in Rome for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano. It was later purchased by Ferdinando de’ Medici and was occupied for a time by Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici (later Pope Leo XI). In 1801 Napoleon

Andrea del Sarto: …of the decoration of the Villa Medici at Poggio a Caiano, near Florence. The patron was in fact the pope, Leo X, whom Sarto almost certainly visited in Rome in 1519–20; but the project, the only one that ever offered Florentine artists the scope that Raphael had in the Vatican…

cortile: …examples are those of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, both of the late 15th century. The cortile of the Pitti Palace (1560) is one of the most important examples of Mannerist architecture in Florence.

cortile: …examples are those of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, both of the late 15th century. The cortile of the Pitti Palace (1560) is one of the most important examples of Mannerist architecture in Florence.

medicinal leech, any of certain leech species (phylum Annelida), particularly Hirudo medicinalis, H. verbana, and H. orientalis, once used in the treatment of human diseases and used at present as a source of anticoagulants following certain surgical procedures. See

angiosperm: Significance to humans: …exception of antibiotics, almost all medicinals either are derived directly from compounds produced by angiosperms or, if synthesized, were originally discovered in angiosperms. This includes some vitamins (e.g., vitamin C, originally extracted from fruits); aspirin, originally from the bark of willows (Salix; Salicaceae); narcotics (e.g.,

medicinal poisoning, harmful effects on health of certain therapeutic drugs, resulting either from overdose or from the sensitivity of specific body tissues to regular doses (side effects). Until about the 1920s, there were few effective medications at the disposal of the physician. By mid-century,

drug, any chemical substance that affects the functioning of living things and the organisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that infect them. Pharmacology, the science of drugs, deals with all aspects of drugs in medicine, including their mechanism of action, physical and chemical

medicine, the practice concerned with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease. The World Health Organization at its 1978 international conference held in the Soviet Union produced the Alma-Ata Health Declaration, which was designed to serve governments as a