The Goal of Medicine

Philosophy of Medicine ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190612139.003.0002 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 33-63

Author(s):

Alex Broadbent

Keyword(s):

Pain Relief ◽

Health And Disease

In order to say what medicine is, we need to identify the goal of medicine, the business of medicine, and the nature of health and disease. This chapter introduces the Curative Thesis: both the goal and business of medicine are cure. The Curative Thesis is found to be correct that there is one ultimate goal of medicine: cure. Definitions of cure (and therapy) are discussed. The chapter considers and rejects the view that pain relief is a goal of medicine. The Puzzle of Ineffective Medicine and the Argument from the Persistence of Ineffective Medicine are introduced, concluding that the business of medicine cannot be cure. The business of medicine is the use of a competence or skill, and the persistence of ineffective medicine shows that curing is often not a competence doctors always—or even commonly—possess. But we still recognize medical skill, which must therefore be something else.

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Drug Induced Changes in Cell Organelles

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100100299 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 110-111

Author(s):

Sarah A. Luse

Keyword(s):

Clinical Medicine ◽

Cell Organelles ◽

Riboflavin Deficiency ◽

Drug Induced ◽

New Era ◽

Health And Disease ◽

In The Beginning ◽

Cellular Pathology ◽

Induced Changes ◽

The Impact

In the mid-nineteenth century Virchow revolutionized pathology by introduction of the concept of “cellular pathology”. Today, a century later, this term has increasing significance in health and disease. We now are in the beginning of a new era in pathology, one which might well be termed “organelle pathology” or “subcellular pathology”. The impact of lysosomal diseases on clinical medicine exemplifies this role of pathology of organelles in elucidation of disease today.Another aspect of cell organelles of prime importance is their pathologic alteration by drugs, toxins, hormones and malnutrition. The sensitivity of cell organelles to minute alterations in their environment offers an accurate evaluation of the site of action of drugs in the study of both function and toxicity. Examples of mitochondrial lesions include the effect of DDD on the adrenal cortex, riboflavin deficiency on liver cells, elevated blood ammonia on the neuron and some 8-aminoquinolines on myocardium.

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The Laryngeal Epithelium in Reflux

Perspectives on Voice and Voice Disorders ◽

10.1044/vvd21.3.112 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 112-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽

Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

Keyword(s):

Laryngopharyngeal Reflux ◽

Critical Role ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Laryngeal Disease ◽

Health And Disease ◽

And Function ◽

The Impact

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.

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