Internal Medicine — Introduction and General Principles

Internal Medicine · Clinical Specialties

How it begins

Internal Medicine constitutes the backbone of modern clinical practice. Its profound understanding—from its epistemological bases to its diagnostic-therapeutic tools—is a sine qua non for the rigorous practice of medicine. This document exhaustively addresses the general principles that underpin this discipline, integrating historical, methodological,…

What it covers

1. Definition and Object of Study of Internal Medicine
2. · Object of Study and Scope
3. · The Internist as "Doctor of Doctors"
4. · Relationship with Other Disciplines
5. History and Historical Evolution of Internal Medicine
6. Clinical Epistemology: How the Doctor Knows
7. · Nature of Clinical Knowledge
8. · Types of Epistemological Reasoning in Medicine
9. · The Bayesian Model in Internal Medicine
10. · Cognitive Errors in Clinical Reasoning
11. Clinical Semiology and Anamnesis in Internal Medicine
12. · Structure of the Anamnesis in Internal Medicine
13. · Systematic Physical Examination
14. · Signs of High Diagnostic Value in Internal Medicine
15. Clinical Reasoning: Theory and Practice
16. · Reasoning Systems: Dual Thinking Theory
17. · The Hypothetical-Deductive Process
18. · The Illness Script
19. Differential Diagnosis: Methodology and Principles
20. · Guiding Principles of Differential Diagnosis
21. · VINDICATE Mnemonics for Differential Diagnosis
22. Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)
23. · The Three Pillars of MBE
24. · Hierarchy of Clinical Evidence
25. · Key Statistical Parameters in MBE
26. General Disease Mechanisms
27. · 1. Cell Injury and Cell Death
28. · Apoptosis vs. Necrosis vs. Necroptosis: Relevant Clinical Distinction
29. · 2. Inflammation: The Central Mechanism in Internal Medicine
30. · 3. Degeneration and Aging
31. · 4. Neoplasia: General Principles
32. Homeostasis, Adaptive Response and Systems Pathophysiology
33. · Fundamental Regulatory Mechanisms
34. · Adaptive Response: Hypertrophy, Hyperplasia, Atrophy and Metaplasia
35. Systemic Inflammation: Fundamental Mechanisms
36. · Phases of the Acute Inflammatory Response
37. · Inflammatory Mediators of Clinical Relevance
38. · Low Grade Systemic Inflammation: "Inflammaging"
39. The Doctor-Patient Relationship in Internal Medicine
40. · Doctor-Patient Relationship Models
41. · Effective Clinical Communication
42. · Therapeutic Adherence: The Biggest Problem of Internal Medicine
43. Medical Ethics and Bioethics in Internal Medicine
44. · The Four Principles of Beauchamp and Childress
45. · Informed Consent
46. · Therapeutic Effort Limitation (LET)
47. Internism in the 21st Century: Challenges and Transformations
48. · The Epidemiology of Complexity
49. · Precision Medicine and Genomics in Internal Medicine
50. · Artificial Intelligence in Internal Medicine
51. Integrative Summary: The Pillars of the Complete Internist
52. · Synthesis: Internal Medicine as an Integrative Discipline