Internal medicine, is the broadest branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases of the internal organs. Internists deal with diseases of many systems: respiratory, circulatory, digestive, urinary, as well as metabolic and endocrine diseases. It is the internist’s advice that patients most often seek, as he is usually their primary care physician. Very often internists have yet another medical specialty. Internists deal with the treatment of, among other things:

• upper respiratory tract infections
• the common cold
• pneumonia
• asthma
• obstructive pulmonary disease
• arterial hypertension,
• ischemic heart disease
• heart failure
• peptic ulcer disease
• intestinal diseases
• esophageal reflux
• urinary tract infections
• cystitis
• diabetes
• hypercholesterolemia
• hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism