All Specialties
Compare details of two specialities you are considering.
The three major specialty areas in preventive health are aerospace medicine, occupational medicine, and public health and general preventive medicine. Since April 2010 there has been a new educational pathway to Board Certification in this specialty...
Allergists/immunologists diagnose and treat patients who have asthma, allergic and immunologic conditions.
The work of clinical allergists is more familiar to the public than the more scientifically oriented activities of the immunologist, but...
Anesthesiologists are physicians who perform a variety of activities: manage procedures for rendering a patient insensible to pain and emotional stress during surgical, obstetrical, and certain medical procedures; support life functions under the...
Cardiologists diagnose and treat defects and diseases of the cardiovascular system, including the heart, blood vessels, and the circulation of blood through the body.
Those cardiologists who become interested in full-time subspecialization in...
This specialty was called proctology (derived from the Greek word proktos, meaning anus) until 1961 when the name was changed to colon and rectal surgery to reflect a broader scope of interest. Physicians in this field are defined by the American...
Dermatology deals with the medical aspects (and sometimes surgical treatment) of skin disorders and diseases. In addition, dermatologists provide valuable medical therapy and emotional support for many individuals with chronic skin diseases.
The emergency medicine physician is defined by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEM) as one who is a specialist in breadth, whose training is focused on the acute and the life-threatening aspects of medical care, and who, by nature of...
Physicians who specialize in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism deal with the diagnosis and treatment of the hormone-producing glandular and metabolic systems. There are three categories: clinical endocrinology, pediatric endocrinology, and...
Formerly called "family practice," family medicine was recognized in 1969 as the twentieth medical specialty and residencies were developed in response to public need for well-trained generalist physicians. The official definition is: "family...
Gastroenterologists deal with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders related to the digestive system.the esophagus, stomach, gall bladder and biliary tract, liver, pancreas, and small and large intestines. Traditionally, a significant...
Hematology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of blood, bone marrow, lymph glands, spleen, and vascular system. Medical oncology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of neoplastic disease.
Historically, hematology and oncology...
Infectious diseases physicians deal with the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases in outpatient and inpatient settings. Most frequently encountered illnesses are HIV/AIDS and pneumonia. Emerging areas of concern are the growing threat...
A general internist specializes in the prevention, detection and treatment of illnesses in adults and is not trained in a subspecialty of internal medicine. The general internist is well trained in the diagnosis of puzzling medical problems, in the...
In 2012 the American Board of Medical Specialties approved interventional radiology (IR), also known as vascular and interventional radiology or surgical radiology, as the fourth primary medical specialty of the American Board of Radiology. A past...
Approved as a bona fide clinical specialty and the twenty-fourth member of the American Board of Medical Specialties in 1993, medical genetics has evolved over the past 40 years from a basic science to a clinical discipline that many believe will...
Hematology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of blood, bone marrow, lymph glands, spleen, and vascular system. Medical oncology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of neoplastic disease.
Historically, hematology and oncology...
Nephrology is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of renal (kidney) and urinary system disease. Nephrologists treat fluid, electrolyte, acid-base, and mineral imbalances; glomerulonephritis; hypertension; and polycystic kidney. They provide...
Neurological surgery is concerned with the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems and involves diagnosis and, frequently, surgical treatment.
Although considered to be a subspecialty of surgery, the traditional base of neurological...
The neurologist is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system - the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, and certain muscle disorders and pain problems, especially headache. Many neurologic disorders require...
Nuclear medicine physicians use radioactive molecules and atoms in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. They have a technological orientation and their work involves supervising and interpreting diagnostic and laboratory procedures and engaging...
Two separate fields, obstetrics and gynecology, are combined to provide health care to women. The obstetrician cares for the woman before, during, and after her pregnancy; the gynecologist cares for disorders and diseases of the female reproductive...
The three major specialty areas in preventive health are aerospace medicine, occupational medicine, and public health and general preventive medicine. Since April 2010 there has been a new educational pathway to Board Certification in this specialty...
Ophthalmology is concerned with the structure, function, diseases, and abnormalities of the eye. Patients of all ages, from newborn to geriatric, may seek ophthalmologic care. Although ophthalmology is classified as a surgical specialty,...
Physicians in this specialty, seek to restore normal function to a deformed, diseased, or injured part of the musculoskeletal system utilizing medical, surgical, and physical rehabilitation methods.
Otolaryngology is no longer confined to the areas of ear, nose, and throat. It has become a comprehensive discipline of medicine and surgery of the head and neck region.
Pathology is the branch of medicine concerned with the cause, manifestation, diagnosis, and outcome of disease. The pathologist provides the morphologic and laboratory analysis to assist in patient care. Although many pathologists have traditionally...
Pediatrics is concerned with the physical, mental, and emotional health of young people from birth to adolescence. In addition to providing preventive health care, pediatricians are trained to handle acute and chronic illness. However, more and...
The physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation - the "physiatrist" - is interested in the diagnosis of the disease processes underlying the disability, but focus is on the functional disability itself - that is, evaluation of...
Most plastic surgeons do not concentrate solely on cosmetic surgery. Their work involves the repair and correction of congenital defects, trauma surgery, and cancer reconstruction. In many cases the aim is to restore physical function as well as...
Psychiatrists are concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders. Although many psychiatrists are generalists, there are different models of treatment - for example, individual or group therapy, a behavioral...
The three major specialty areas in preventive health are aerospace medicine, occupational medicine, and public health and general preventive medicine. Since April 2010 there has been a new educational pathway to Board Certification in this specialty...
Pulmonologists, or chest physicians as they are sometimes called, diagnose and treat diseases of the respiratory system. A critical care physician diagnoses, treats and supports patients with multiple organ dysfunction. This specialist may have...
The radiation oncologist focuses on both the curative and the palliative treatment of the person with cancer. They use a variety of treatment modalities such as x-rays, radium, and radionuclides.
The diagnostic radiologist is concerned with the application of x-rays and other forms of radiant energy to diagnose and treat disease. The increase in technological developments has expanded the role of the radiologist to include interventional...
Rheumatologists diagnose and treat acute and chronic rheumatic diseases and musculoskeletal problems, primarily in outpatient settings.
General surgery is the basic discipline from which other surgical subspecialties have emerged. Surgery, by definition, deals with diseases or injuries that require operative procedures.
Thoracic surgery (also called "cardiothoracic surgery" and "cardiovascular and thoracic surgery") deals with surgery of the chest cavity containing the heart, lungs, and esophagus.
Urology is a surgical subspecialty concerned with the medical and surgical treatment of disorders and diseases of the female urinary tract and male urogenital tract. Urologists are involved with problems of the kidney, ureters, bladder, prostate,...