The science of medicine advances unstoppably through its multiple forms of knowledge.
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The 50 main branches of medicine
As medicine has developed, new fields of knowledge have emerged . Today medicine is a science with a vast variety of disciplines. This expansion of knowledge translates into many new specialties that we are going to discover below.
The main branches of medicine represent much of the knowledge we have about our health and our diseases. Even so, we are sure that in the future new subdisciplines will continue to appear that will further enrich our knowledge, which may continue to be classified in the traditional grouping of branches: clinical, surgical, and laboratory.
Clinical medical branches
The traditional classification of the branches of medicine has always been made from a perspective that categorizes them according to their way of carrying out medical practice, with the clinical branch being the most traditional of all.
The branches of clinical medicine have to do with those that assist patients without using surgical techniques . This contemplates different preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic activities. Below we see the main clinical branches of medicine.
1. Allergology
Allergology is the medical specialty in charge of studying the pathology produced by autoimmunity mechanisms.
2. Anesthesiology and resuscitation
Anesthesiology is a medical specialty that focuses on the treatment of acute or chronic pain. It also cares for patients during surgical interventions or other processes that may be uncomfortable or painful.
3. Cardiology
Cardiology focuses on diseases of the heart and circulatory system, being medical and not surgical.
4. Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology is the branch that studies diseases of the digestive system and organs that are associated with it.
5. Endocrinology
Endocrinology studies the endocrine system and its dysfunctions, which can lead to diseases such as diabetes mellitus.
6. Geriatrics
Geriatrics is the branch of medicine dedicated to diseases in the elderly.
7. Hematology and hemotherapy
Hematology is a branch of internal medicine that focuses on the treatment of patients with blood or hematologic diseases.
8. Infectology
Infectology is the branch that studies diseases caused by infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites).
9. Aerospace Medicine
Aerospace medicine studies the diseases and disorders of the human body that are associated with hostile environments such as aviation, diving or space.
10. Sports Medicine
Sports medicine is a branch that studies the effects of physical activity on the human body.
11. Occupational medicine
Occupational medicine is the branch of medicine that is responsible for illnesses and accidents related to work activity.
12. Emergency medicine
Emergency medicine acts when an injury or illness poses an immediate threat to a person’s life. In these cases assistance cannot be delayed.
13. Family and Community Medicine
Family and community medicine is a branch whose scope of action is primary health care.
14. Physical Medicine
Physical medicine and rehabilitation focuses on caring for patients with disabling processes.
15. Intensive medicine
Intensive medicine cares for patients who are critically ill and who generally require intensive supervision and monitoring.
16. Internal Medicine
Internal medicine is the branch of medicine that cares for patients affected by various diseases or who present symptoms in various organs or systems of the body.
17. Forensic and legal medicine
Forensic medicine applies all medical knowledge to solve legal problems that are dealt with by the courts of justice.
18. Preventive medicine and public health
Preventive medicine and public health investigates and promotes health promotion and protection policies.
19. Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the application of medical knowledge to both domestic and wild animals.
20. Nephrology
Nephrology studies kidney structure and function with special attention to kidney diseases.
21. Pulmonology
Pulmonology is the medical branch that studies diseases of the respiratory system, focusing on the lung, pleura and mediastinum.
22. Neurology
Neurology is the medicine that focuses on disorders of the nervous system.
23. Nutriologia
Nutrition is the medicine that studies human nutrition and its relationship with the state of health.
24. Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology studies eye diseases and how to treat them, including the eyeball, its muscles, the lacrimal system and the eyelids.
25. Medical Oncology
Medical oncology belongs to the branch of internal medicine and is dedicated to the care of cancer patients.
26 Radiation Oncology
Radiation oncology oriented to the use of radiation treatments in the treatment of certain types of cancer.
27. Pediatrics
Pediatrics is the medical branch whose object of study is children and their diseases.
28. Psychiatry
Psychiatry is dedicated to the study of mental disorders.
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29. Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of medicine that studies the toxic effects of those substances that damage the body.
Surgical medical branches
The surgical branches are specialties that are developed through surgery . Surgeons must try to improve pathological conditions by modifying the pathological structure in question.
This branch of medicine can use more or less invasive means, with tissue removal being essential in some cases. Next we will see the main specialties.
30. Heart Surgery
Cardiac surgery is the branch of surgical medicine that deals with the heart or great vessels.
31. General and digestive system surgery
General surgery is responsible for all operations of the digestive system.
32. Orthopedic surgery and traumatology
Orthopedic surgery is the branch of surgical medicine responsible for problems in the musculoskeletal system.
33. Pediatric Surgery
Pediatric surgery is a specialty of surgery that covers from the fetus to the young adult.
34. Thoracic Surgery
Thoracic surgery is the surgical branch of diseases that affect the chest.
35. Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty that deals with diseases of the nervous system, including its vascular structures.
Medical-surgical branches
The branches of medical-surgical medicine are those that combine the two previous ones . On a regular basis, they use both surgical and non-invasive techniques (pharmacological, etc.). Below we show the main branches of this way of doing medicine.
36. Angiology and Vascular Surgery
Angiology focuses on the vessels of the circulatory system (veins and arteries) and the lymphatic system.
37. Dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with skin-related diseases.
38. Dentistry
Dentistry treats diseases of the teeth, gums, periodontal tissue, jaws, and the temporomandibular joint.
39. Gynecology and obstetrics or obstetrics
Obstetrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (postpartum period).
40. Otorhinolaryngology
Otorhinolaryngology focuses on diseases of the ear and respiratory tract.
41. Urology
Urology is the branch of medicine that treats pathologies that affect the urinary system, the adrenal glands and the male reproductive system.
42. Traumatology
Traumatology is dedicated to injuries of the musculoskeletal system.
Laboratory or diagnostic medical branches
The branches of medicine that refer to the laboratory or diagnoses represent a support to the others . They specialize in making diagnoses and suggesting treatments to clinicians. In this way, the relationship of patients with this type of medicine is indirect. The branches that we see below stand out.
43. Clinical analysis
The branch of medicine that deals with clinical analysis serves to confirm hypotheses. Normally a doctor orders an analysis to the clinical laboratory to confirm or rule out a diagnosis.
44. Clinical Biochemistry
Biochemistry focuses on the in vitro and in vivo study of biochemical properties. Its purpose is to gain knowledge regarding the prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of diseases through biological samples.
45. Clinical Pharmacology
Clinical pharmacology studies drugs, which can be beneficial but also toxic, always to relieve symptoms or treat a disease,
46. Medical genetics
Medical Genetics is a branch of medicine that applies the knowledge of genetics for the benefit of medicine.
47. Immunology
Immunology is a branch that focuses on the study of the immune system. There are different applications in numerous scientific disciplines.
48. Nuclear Medicine
Nuclear medicine uses carrier drugs and radioactive isotopes to perform tests that allow the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
49. Microbiology and Parasitology
Microbiology and parasitology represent a branch of medicine whose objective is the investigation and treatment of infectious diseases that affect humans and other living beings.
50. Clinical Neurophysiology
Clinical neurophysiology is a medical specialty that focuses on the effects of disease on the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, muscle, and sense organs.
Bibliographic references
- Leigh, J.P., Tancredi, D., Jerant, A. y Kravitz, R.L. (2010). Physician wages across specialties: informing the physician reimbursement debate. Arch. Intern. Med, 170 (19), 1728–1734.
- Smith, M.W. (1979). A guide to the delineation of medical care regions, medical trade areas, and hospital service areas. Public Health Reports. 94 (3), 248–254..
- Weisz, G. (2003). The Emergence of Medical Specialization in the Nineteenth Century. Bull Hist Med, 77 (3), 536–574.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.