Cardiothoracic surgery is one of many specialties featured on the shows
Specialties are areas of expertise that doctors train in and use to treat disease.
Training in a specialty is conducted in post-graduate training schemes run in hospitals and is referred to as a residency. Choice of specialty is down to the doctor and on completion of their training, can choose to further specialize in sub-specialties by completing a fellowship.
Surgical Specialty[]
A surgical specialty a branch of a medical science and an area of expertise practiced by surgeons. The surgical specialties are the specialties in which an important part of diagnosis and treatment is achieved through major surgical techniques.
Featured Surgical Specialties[]
- Anesthesiology[1] focuses on the administration and management of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine.
- General surgery focuses on the surgical management of organs within and adjacent to the abdomen.
- Cardiothoracic surgery focuses on the surgical management of the organs within the thorax, such as the heart, its great vessels, and lungs.
- Colorectal surgery[2], also known as Proctology, focuses on the surgical management of the anus, rectum, and the colon.
- Neurosurgery[3] focuses on the surgical management of the brain, spine, and nervous systems.
- Pediatric surgery focuses on the surgical management of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
- Neonatal surgery focuses on the surgical management of premature infants and neonates.
- Fetal surgery[4] focuses on the surgical management of fetuses within the pregnant uterus.
- Plastic surgery focuses on the surgical management of organs for the purpose of form-restoration and function.
- Craniofacial surgery focuses on the surgical management to correct or enhance the skull, face, and jaws.
- Surgical oncology focuses on the surgical management of cancer.
- Transplant surgery focuses on the surgical management of moving one organ of the body to another for the purpose of replacing damaged or absent organs.
- Trauma surgery focuses on the surgical management of invasive treatments on physical injuries in an emergency situation.
- Urology[5] focuses on the surgical management of the urinary tract system and the male reproductive organs.
- Vascular surgery focuses on the surgical management of the vascular system.
- Obstetrics and Gynecology focuses on the surgical management of the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state.
- Maternal-fetal medicine, also known as Perinatology, focuses on the surgical management of the high-risk pregnancies.
- Fetal surgery[4] focuses on the surgical management of fetuses within the pregnant uterus.
- Reproductive endocrinology and infertility, also known as REI, focuses on the surgical management of the hormonal function as it pertains to the female reproductive organs and infertility.
- Maternal-fetal medicine, also known as Perinatology, focuses on the surgical management of the high-risk pregnancies.
- Ophthalmology focuses on the surgical management of the eye.
- Vitreo-retinal surgery focuses on the surgical management of retinal and posterior segment diseases and disorders.
- Oral and Maxillofacial surgery, also known as OMFS, is a specialty of dentistry which focuses on the surgical management of the head, neck, face, and jaws.
- Orthopedic surgery[6] focuses on the surgical management of the musculoskeletal system.
- Orthopedic sports medicine focuses on the musculoskeletal health of an athlete.
- Otolaryngology, also known as ENT, focuses on the surgical management of the ears, nose, neck, head, and throat.
Medical Specialty[]
A medical specialty is a branch of a medical science and an area of expertise held by physicians, in regards to medical and non-invasive treatment, in contrast with surgery and its specialties.
Featured Medical Specialties[]
- Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention.
- Dermatology is a medical specialty dealing with the skin and its diseases. It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects.
- Internal medicine focuses on the non-surgical treatment of illnesses.
- Critical care medicine focuses on the management of critically-ill patients.
- Geriatric medicine focuses on the healthcare of elderly people.
- Hematology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to the blood.
- Infectious disease focuses on those patients affected by infectious diseases.
- Nephrology focuses on the treatment of renal diseases affecting kidney function.
- Medical genetics is a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders.
- Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system.
- Oncology is the medical specialty dealing with the treatment of cancer.
- Pathology is a medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis of disease.
- Pediatrics is a medical specialty that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents.
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology is a medical sub-specialty that focuses on the treatment of both blood diseases and cancers that affect children.
- Neonatology focuses on the medical care of neonates.
- Psychiatry is a medical specialty that deals with the treatment of mental disorders.
- Radiology is a medical specialty that deals with the interpretation of medical technology images as it relates to disease or injury diagnosis.
- Sexology[7] is the medical specialty that deals with the study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function.
Notes and Trivia[]
- ↑ Anesthesiology is classified as a surgical discipline, and thus a surgical specialty, since it is vital in the surgical process.
- ↑ While there are practicing proctologists at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the general surgeons are known to take on colorectal cases.
- Richard, Alex and Intern Ryan operate to remove a foreign body from a patient's rectum. ("Beat Your Heart Out")
- Cristina joked that Meredith should specialize in proctology after she decided not to follow neurosurgery.
- Leah Murphy's last surgery was to install a magnetic sphincter into a young lady who suffered from fecal incontinence and uncontrollable flatulence following surgery to remove rectal cancer.
- ↑ Although Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice portray neurosurgery as a sub-specialty of general surgery requiring a surgical residency and then a fellowship in order to practice the specialty, in the real world, neurosurgery is its own specialty with its own residency.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The @GreysMedical twitter account confirms that fetal surgery is a sub-specialty of both pediatric surgery and maternal-fetal medicine.
- ↑ Although Grey's Anatomy portrays urology as a sub-specialty of general surgery requiring a surgical residency and then a fellowship in order to practice the specialty, in the real world, urology is its own specialty with its own residency.
- ↑ Grey's Anatomy portrays ortho surgery as both a surgical residency and optional surgical fellowship (although in the latter does not exist in the real world). Callie Torres was an ortho resident and attempted to have Jo Wilson pursue ortho surgery as a fellowship. Additionally, Eliza Minnick is a general surgery trained ortho surgeon.
- ↑ Although not recognized in the real-world a traditional medical specialty, both Charlotte King and Pete Wilder confirm in dialogue that sexology is a legitimate medical specialty during Strange Bedfellows.
- Depending on state and country, medical specialties may be defined and trained using different methods. This list is meant to cover most medical specialties broadly and is not a definitive list and does not include more specific sub-specialties.