Medical literature 5242635 198883616 2008-03-17T16:29:26Z 70.101.60.214 [[Image:Edwin Smith Papyrus v2.jpg|thumb|Plates vi & vii of the [[Edwin Smith Papyrus]] at the Rare Book Room, [[New York Academy of Medicine]]]] '''Medical literature''' refers to articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of [[medicine]]. Contemporary and historic views regarding diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of medical conditions have been documented for thousands of years. The [[Edwin Smith papyrus]] is the first known medical [[treatise]]. Initially most described inflictions related to warfare. This was because war was the most important part of society and it was the most common way of contracting health problems. ==History== [[Image:Imhotep-Louvre.JPG|thumb|Statuette of [[Imhotep]] in the [[Louvre]]]] [[Image:Avicenna Persian Physician.jpg|thumb|<center>Renowned 11th century Persian physician [[Avicenna]], the author of ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]''.]] {{main|History of medicine}} {{see|Al-Tasrif|The Canon of Medicine|Huangdi Neijing}} Throughout history people have written about diseases, how [[human being]]s might contract them and what could be done to remedy it. Medicine ranged from folklore, withcraft to the current [[Evidence-based medicine]].<ref>[http://www.st-mike.org/medicine/medicine.html Medicine in Ancient and Medieval Times]</ref><ref>[http://www.anes.uab.edu/aneshist/medhist.htm MEDICAL HISTORY ON THE INTERNET]</ref><ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/intro.HTM Asclepion, a World Wide Web page devoted to the study of ancient medicine]</ref> Among the most notable descriptions are texts from Egypt ([[Imhotep]], ''[[Edwin Smith Papyrus]]'', ''[[Ebers Papyrus]]'', ''[[Kahun Gynecological Papyrus]]''),<ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/egypt.HTM Medicine in Ancient Egypt]</ref> Mesopotamia (''[[Babylonia#Medicine|Diagnostic Handbook]]'', [[al-Kindi|Alkindus]], ''[[De Gradibus]]''), India ([[Ayurveda]], ''[[Sushruta Samhita]]'', ''[[Charaka Samhita]]''), China ([[Yellow Emperor]], ''[[Huangdi Neijing]]''), Greece (''[[Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey]]'' are the earliest sources of Greek medical practise; [[Hippocrates|Hippocratic medicine]]),<ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/greekmenu.HTM Medicine in Ancient Greece]</ref> Persia ([[Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi|Rhazes]], [[Avicenna]], ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]'', ''[[The Book of Healing]]''), Spain ([[Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi|Abulcasis]], ''[[Al-Tasrif|Kitab al-Tasrif]]'') and Syria ([[Ibn al-Nafis]], ''Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon'', ''Comprehensive Book on Medicine''). Following [[Vesalius]], [[William Harvey]], [[Ignaz Semmelweis]], [[Louis Pasteur]], and others, the medical community have changed the way it conducts [[medical research|research]]. After incorporating the [[scientific method]] medical literature has introduced the so-called [[peer review]], and is currently divided into journals and textbooks. ==Medical journal== {{main|Medical journal}} These are publications in which the medical community shares information. Articles are commonly either original articles or reviews. #Original articles describe [[randomized controlled trials]] which are submitted for [[peer review]] following the [[scientific method]]. #Reviews are an overview of one particular topic in order to refresh the readers' memory. When looking for specific information in any journal one can use the [[National Library of Medicine]]'s [[PubMed]] [[database]]. Examples of journals are: * The ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'' * ''[[The Lancet]]'' * '' [[Journal of the American Medical Association]]'' * ''[[Annals of Internal Medicine]]'' * ''[[Nature Medicine]]'' * ''[[BMJ]]'' (''British Medical Journal'') * ''[[Archives of Internal Medicine]]'' ==Medical textbooks== After [[Consensus (medical)|consensus]] has been reached it is incorporated in [[textbook]]s. There are textbooks on every [[medical specialty]] and they contain comprehensive discussion on all [[diseases]] and their [[diagnosis]], therapy and [[prognosis]]. Examples are: *''[[Cecil Textbook of Medicine]]''<ref>[http://www.cecilmedicine.com/buy.cfm?book=goldman Cecil Textbook of Medicine]</ref> *''[[Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine]]''<ref>[http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/getbook.php?isbn=0071391401 Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine]</ref> *The ''[[Oxford Textbook of Medicine]]''<ref>[http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Medicine/PrimaryCare/?view=usa&ci=9780198569787 Oxford Textbook of Medicine]</ref> ==Internet== Most prominent journals and textbooks are currently available [[on-line]] or via [[CD-Rom]]. ==See also== *[[Cochrane Collaboration]] *[[Evidence-based medicine]] *[[Guideline (medical)|Guideline]] *[[Peer review]] *[[Scientific method]] ==References== <references/> [[Category:Medical journals| ]] [[Category:Medical manuals]]