We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Medicine

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Environmental Medicine?

By J. Leach
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 2,374
Share

Environmental medicine is the study of how the environment and the body interact. An environment can be defined as any object, condition, or circumstance that surrounds a body. Environments are believed to be responsible for causing or exacerbating certain medical conditions. Occupational medicine, the study of how work environments affect the body, is closely linked to environmental medicine. The basic philosophy of occupational and environmental medicine is that all illnesses caused by environmental conditions are preventable.

Where a person plays, eats, lives, and works can greatly impact his health. Environmental medicine relies upon the expertise of different medical fields, such as oncology, nutrition, allergies/immunology, and general practitioners. Using a multidisciplinary approach, a doctor or scientist can locate the negative aspect of the environment that is causing a problem.

Prevention is the key concept in this discipline. For example, the reduction of the ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere is letting more ultraviolet (UV) rays through. UV rays are believed to cause and exacerbate some forms of skin cancer. Protecting the skin during exposure to the sun neutralizes that particular harmful aspect of the environment.

Discovering the causal elements of a patient's ailment can often be difficult. Certain chemicals and fumes are common in our environment, but can make some people very sick. A doctor must find out how long the symptoms have been occurring and if the symptoms only appear when the patient visits a particular location. If there is a cluster of cases, like a certain type of cancer, doctors need to look at what those cases have in common.

For example, asbestos miners have had a high incidence of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a malignant cancer of the pleura, the tissue covering the lungs and lining the cavity where the heart and lungs sit. Mesothelioma can be caused by inhaling asbestos dust particles. Preventing asbestos dust from being inhaled eliminates diseases caused by the dust.

Theron Randolph (1906 to 1995), an American allergist, is credited as the founder of environmental medicine. In 1965, he co-founded the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. Randolph and other American allergists fought against the European definition of allergies, which disregarded all environmental causes. A patient who is allergic to a mold that grows in his house, for example, suffers from an allergy that has an environmental cause.

In 1992, a committee was formed to decide the mission and definition of environmental medicine. Environmental medicine was recognized, in 1993, as an important part of medicine and the educational curricula for doctors. Occupational and environmental medicine programs were started at many prestigious medical schools in the early 1990s.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-environmental-medicine.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.