Internal Diseases

“The Internal Diseases” department has a quite significant place in general medical practice. This is the department where the adult patients with health problems who do not exactly know the department to apply at first. Firstly, the medical history (in medical terms, anamnesis) of the patient applying to this department is obtained, and then the patient is examined by the Internal Diseases Specialist. After, these procedures, if it is considered necessary by the specialist, the blood (whole blood count, biochemical tests, and hormone analyses), and urine tests (urine microscopy, blood, protein and leukocyte analysis in urine) and imaging examinations (ultrasonography and etc.) which can help for diagnosis and/or differential diagnosis can be requested.

After, this phase, the Internal Diseases Specialist can determine a diagnosis for the patient and apply his/her treatment or if the determined diagnosis is out of his context of specialty, he/she transfers the patient to the related department. As the phrase goes, the General Internal Diseases department acts as a guide for adult patients.

Is the General Internal Diseases Department always enough? When should we apply to minor branches?

Some minor branches have been developed as a response to enhancing advancement in internal medical sciences and increasing knowledge. The General Internal Diseases Specialists of our country also have education in minor branches and they get educated more in their minor branches. If, it is to name these minor branches:

• • Gastroenterology (Deals with the digestive system diseases)
• • Nephrology (Deals with kidney diseases)
• • Rheumatology – Immunology (Deals with the connective tissue and muscle diseases and immune system diseases)
• • Hematology (Deals with benign and malignant blood diseases)
• • Oncology (Serves to organ cancer patients)
• • Geriatrics (Serves to the patients over 60 with internal diseases problems)

If, it is considered necessary by the General Internal Diseases Specialist, the patient can be directed to a minor branch. Or, the patient can request that. For example, if, it is considered that a patient who applies with stomach-ache, fever, nausea and vomiting complaints is diagnosed with pancreatitis (in other words, acute infection of pancreatic gland), at this stage, this patient can be directed to a Gastroenterology Specialist. Or, if a patient with weight loss or adenoids is diagnosed with lymphoma, this patient should be evaluated by a Hematology Specialist as soon as possible. But, there is an issue which should not be forgotten. These 6 minor specialists are not available in all hospitals, only in University Hospitals, Foundation Hospitals and large medical centers in some big cities.

Who should apply to the Internal Diseases (General Internal Diseases) department?

As a priority, it is not necessary that the patient must have any complaint or a disease to apply this department. The patients can apply to this department for periodic checks for their general health examination (Check-up). In addition to this, the General Internal Diseases Department can be applied for the following conditions;

• • Fever (with unknown reason)
• • Upper respiratory tract infections (flu, common cold)
• • Lower respiratory tract infections (bronchitis, pneumonia)
• • Hypertension (high arterial blood pressure)
• • Hypotension (low arterial blood pressure)
• • Chest pain
• • Cardiac deficiency
• • Bloody urine, kidney diseases
• • Diabetes and its long-term side effects (on heart, brain, eyes, kidney and nerves)
• • Goiter (hypertrophy of thyroid gland)
• • Hyperthyroid (hyperfunction of thyroid gland)
• • Hypothyroid (stolidity of thyroid gland)
• • Anemia
• • Cytopenia (low blood values)
• • Ventricosity of adenoids
• • Splenomegaly
• • Excessive weight loss with unknown cause
• • Excessive weight gain with unknown cause
• • Reflux, gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcer
• • Constipation
• • Hemorrhoid
• • Spastic colitis (neural colitis)
• • Joint and connective tissue diseases

As it can be seen, several diseases and disorders which we even can write completely are within the contexts of the General Internal Diseases Department.