Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

FOREWORD
A big part of my role as a physician is educating
my patients about their health. I take as much
time as each person needs to explain prevention
measures, test results, and treatment options. I
encourage questions. But in the moment, sitting
there in my office, most people do not yet know
what to ask me. By the time questions flood
their thoughts, they may be back at work or at
home.
Numerous events and circumstances can challenge
health, and we all need to know what
actions we can take to keep ourselves healthy as
well as to obtain appropriate treatment for health
conditions that do affect us. Knowledge empowers
all of us to make informed and appropriate
decisions about health care. Certainly there is no
shortage of reference material. Yet there is so
much information available today! Even for
physicians, it is challenging to keep up. How can
you get to the core of what you want to know,
reliably and to the level of detail you need?
The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine
is a great resource for up-to-date health information
presented in a manner that is both
comprehensive and easy to understand no matter
what your level of medical knowledge. The encyclopedia
organizes entries by body system. The
progression of body systems—and entries—
throughout the encyclopedia presents topics the
way you think about them.
Going beyond this basic structure, however, is
another layer of organization that particularly
appeals to me, which is a comprehensive structure
of cross references that integrates entries across
body systems. After all, your body functions in an
integrated way; so, too, should a reference series
that discusses your body’s health. Not very much
that happens with your health affects one part of
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your body in isolation from other body structures
and functions. Your body attempts to compensate
and adjust, often without your awareness, until it
can no longer accommodate the injury or illness.
The symptoms you bring to your doctor may
reflect this compensation, for example frequent
headaches that point not to brain tumor (as many
people fear but is very rare) but to eye strain or
muscle tension or sometimes to hypertension
(high blood pressure).
In my medical practice I emphasize integrative
health care, embracing the philosophy that health
exists as the intricate intertwining of the body’s
many systems, structures, and functions. So, too,
does the care of health. I received my medical
degree from Tufts University School of Medicine
in Boston, an institution noted for remaining at
the forefront of the medical profession. I also
completed clinical programs in Mind-Body Medicine
at Harvard University, Integrative Medicine at
the University of Arizona School of Medicine, and
Medical Acupuncture at the University of California-Los
Angeles (UCLA). I am a board-certified
obstetrician-gynecologist, a board-certified clinical
nutritionist, and a licensed acupuncturist. I see
patients in my practice in Cincinnati, Ohio; I
teach, I lecture, and I frequently go on television
and radio to talk about health topics. In each of
these areas, I encourage people to think about
their health and health concerns from an integrative
perspective. When you understand your
health from multiple dimensions, you can better
understand what to do to keep yourself as healthy
as possible.
I wish you the best of health for all of a long,
satisfying life. But when the time comes that you
must make decisions about medical care, I want
you to have the knowledge to make informed