This specialized
medical field deals with the study and treatment of illnesses and disorders that mainly affect
elderly people (e.g.,
arthritis,
heart disease,
stroke,
emphysema,
Alzheimer's disease, etc.) The elderly present special diagnostic and treatment challenges due to their potential for impaired
metabolism and
cognition combined with the likelihood of becoming over-medicated due to a variety of age-related illnesses.
A
physician who engages in this specialty is known as a geriatrician.
From the BioTech Dictionary at http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/. For further information see the BioTech homenode.