What is Internal Medicine?
Internal medicine is a medical specialty in which doctors use scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to diagnose and treat adults with a wide range of health problems.
Who is an Internist?
An internist is a medical doctor who specializes in internal medicine. This discipline of medicine deals with a wide range of conditions that affect the body's organs. A key difference from family practitioners is internist only treat adults.
Care Provided by Internal Medicine
Internists provide treatment for:
- Acute health conditions such as flu, strep throat, common cold, and pneumonia
- Arthritis and rheumatic conditions
- Blood disorders such as anemia and hemophilia
- Cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, and coronary artery disease
- Respiratory disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer
- Digestive problems such as gastritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and gastric ulcers.
- Immunologic disorders such as asthma and allergies
- Infectious diseases such as FLU, covid-19 and cellulitis
- Thyroid disorders
- Neurologic conditions such as migraines and diabetic neuropathy
- Mental health disorders, anxiety and depression
Subspecialties of Internal Medicine
Some of the subspecialties of internal medicine include:
- Endocrinology
- Rheumatology
- Infectious diseases
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Gastroenterology
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Dermatology
- Ophthalmology
- Gynecology
- Pulmonary diseases
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Critical care medicine
- Hematology
- Oncology
- Non-surgical orthopedics
- Palliative medicine
- Sleep medicine
- Geriatrics
- Rehabilitation medicine
Internal Medicine Diagnostic Tests
Diagnostic tests performed by internists include:
- Screening tests for blood pressure, cholesterol, colorectal cancer, and gynecologic cancer
- Mammogram
- Rhinoscopy
- Cardiac stress testing
- Echocardiograms
- Biopsy
- Dynamic hormone testing
- Bone density testing
- Endoscopic ultrasound
- Upper and lower endoscopy