Medicine has both its foundational sciences, and specialized branches dealing with particular organs or diseases. The foundational sciences of medicine recurrently go beyond with other areas of science such as veterinary science, biology or chemistry.

Medicine is both an area of knowledge (a science), and the application of that knowledge (by the medical profession and other health professionals such as nurses). Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with preserving or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury.

The science of medicine is the knowledge of body systems and diseases, while the profession of medicine refers to the social structure of the group of people formally trained to apply that knowledge to treat disease. The health and medical sciences collection envelops all facets of human and animal health and medicine. One of the greatest scientific deeds is the astounding growth made in understanding the obscure machinery of life.