Meaning & use
internal medicine
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in adults without surgery.
Grammar: No plural; say 'a doctor of internal medicine' or 'she works in internal medicine'.
Patterns
- a doctor of internal medicine
- specialize in internal medicine
- work in internal medicine
- the department of internal medicine
After medical school, he chose to specialize in internal medicine.
She is a doctor of internal medicine at the city hospital.
The department of internal medicine handles complex adult cases.
Common combinations
- a doctor of internal medicine
- A doctor of internal medicine often acts as a primary care physician for adults.
- specialize in internal medicine
- Many young doctors decide to specialize in internal medicine.
- the department of internal medicine
- The department of internal medicine is on the third floor.
- practice internal medicine
- He has practiced internal medicine for over twenty years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- general medicine
- Similar in meaning, but 'general medicine' is a broader term often used in British English for non-specialist adult care.
- internal medicine
- No exact synonym; 'internist' refers to the doctor, not the field.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: internal medicine or general practice?
internal medicine vs general practice
General practice provides ongoing care for all ages, while internal medicine focuses on adults and often on more complex diseases.
Practice
After treating many adult patients with long-term illnesses, Dr. Lee decided to specialize in ______.
Choose one answer.
'Internal medicine' is the correct uncountable name of the medical field. 'Internal medicines' is wrong because the term has no plural. 'Internally' is an adverb, and 'internal medical' is an adjective phrase that cannot follow 'in' as a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “internal medicine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.