In one's life, apart from work, maintaining health and preventing and treating various diseases are among the most important things. Medicine is a science that studies these aspects. From Dad's running exercises, babies getting vaccinated after birth, classmates breaking their legs while riding bicycles, grandpas suffering from strokes, to neighbors getting diagnosed with cancer, medicine is involved in all of these.
Why did Uncle have stomach cancer and go to the hospital for surgery, while Grandma preferred traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for her joint pain? This is because medicine can be divided into two major categories: modern medicine (commonly known as Western medicine) and traditional medicine (such as TCM), which use completely different methods to diagnose and treat diseases. Western medicine uses stethoscopes and various instruments to "examine" patients, while TCM relies on "observation, listening, questioning, and palpation" to diagnose diseases by looking at the tongue coating and feeling the pulse. Surgery is a strong suit of Western medicine, along with various drugs with clear ingredients and effects; while Chinese medicine and acupuncture are the weapons of TCM.
Modern medicine is divided into many categories. Hospital emergency departments and wards belong to "clinical medicine", which is further divided into surgical and non-surgical departments. Surgery can be further divided into cardiothoracic surgery, abdominal surgery... Abdominal surgery can also be divided into hepatobiliary surgery, anal and intestinal surgery... No wonder some people complain that going to a Western hospital is like Liu Lao entering the Grand View Garden, feeling lost and confused. In fact, doctors in hospitals are like actors on stage, and many others work behind the scenes. For example, some study human anatomy, which belongs to basic medicine, a must-have course for every doctor. Doctors cannot operate on patients without understanding human anatomy. Others study how to prevent diseases, which belongs to preventive medicine. In fact, this has always been highly valued by our ancestors. The saying "A good doctor treats diseases before they occur" means that a good doctor should not wait until people get sick to treat them, but should prevent diseases before they occur. There are also doctors who study more specialized fields, such as the effects of weightlessness on astronauts and how Antarctic expedition members adapt to polar climate and environment, which belongs to "special medicine"...
In short, medicine is about solving people's health problems.