Science and medicine are two words that people often confuse with one another. But they are not the same thing at all, even though they do overlap in some areas. You might be wondering what the difference is between science and medicine—here is a helpful guide to breaking down both!
What Is Science?
Science is the body of knowledge that focuses on a particular field. For example, biology is the study of living beings and their survival needs, while chemistry looks at how elements interact to create compounds.
There are many other branches in science that focus on things such as physics, astronomy, meteorology, and so on. So when you talk about science, you are really talking about the broad field of study.
What Is Medicine?
Medicine is defined as anything that pertains to health care or the practice of treating an illness.
This definition gives you an idea of how broad medicine can be in its range—it covers everything from pharmaceuticals and surgery to mental health and alternative medicine.
Some branches that are considered part of medicine are orthopedics, cardiology, neurology, dermatology, and so on. These all have something to do with the human body and how it works—these specific areas just happen to be more focused than others.
What Is the Relationship Between Science and Medicine?
Science can lead to new advancements in medicine. For example, scientists are currently working on mapping the human brain to help us better understand how it works.
But they are also researching neuroscience to find ways to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. The more we learn about how the brain works, directly correlate with research done toward finding new medicines that can treat mental disorders.
The fields of science and medicine are closely related, but they are not the same thing!
Science is more abstract in nature while medicine is more specific. For example, if you wanted to know what scientists have found out so far about the human brain, you would look up neuroscience information. But if you wanted to know about a specific disease that affects the brain, then you would want to look up the specific type of medicine that deals with it.