As we review the history of medical instruction in the book of medicine, it becomes somewhat apparent that things were typically done more out of a need for necessity.  Sometimes the perspective was based on false premises, sometimes the science or medicine was wrong, and sometimes the wrong treatment was utilized, but one commonality seems to be the perceived necessity.  One hundred years ago when surgical procedures were not much better than they were 1,000 years ago, you didn't fix something that wasn't broken and typically you didn't fix something unless it was very broken.

Today we fix things that are not broken all the time.  We fix things to make them better than they were originally.  'Better' is loosely defined in medicine today. It can mean an aesthetic improvement or a functional improvement or a combination of the two.

One sub niche of cosmetic surgery is ethnic plastic surgery. This area of medicine focuses on changing physical traits that are common to one ethnic group.  Sometimes that physical characteristic is changed in a way that reduces the perception of the trait being identifiable from that original ethnic source.

Another niche of cosmetic surgery is a localized procedure for beverly hills breast reduction.  Breast augmentations are typically aesthetically driven, and they are usually augmented by increasing size or volume of the breast.  Some women choose to go the other direction.  Breast reductions can be driven by aesthetic purposes, but they can also be driven by functional purposes as well.  The reduction can reduce body weight and make movement and exercise more comfortable.

A third niche of cosmetic surgery is los angeles liposuction.  This process is often cosmetic but does provide health benefits by reducing the straing on the heart and other systems.  Liposuction removes body fat from localized areas of the body.  It literally sucks the fatty tissue out of the body.  When people gain weight they can grow new fat cells.  When they loose weight they do not loose fat cells, the cells just get smaller.  Liposuction removes the fast cells, making it somewhat easier to maintain a new lower weight.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• The Complete Organs and Structures
  
  

  The Complete Organs and Structures — the muscles which give form and shape to the body would be powerless and strands of movement and devoid of the bones of the skeleton.  Thus we see that every organ and structure was formed with direct reference to the accomplishment of a certain definite object.  Hence, the bones form framework, to protect the delicate organs of mind, respiration, circulation, digestion and excretion, to serve as levers on which the muscles may act to produce motion, and to preserve the form and shape of the body; the muscles, such as we observe in this plate, give form, shape and symmetrical proportions to the body, and produce its varied motions; by means of the brain we think, feel and act; the nerves of the eye take cognizance of external objects, and convey their impressions to the brain; the auditory nerve distinguishes sounds; the olfactory nerve identifies and separates the different odors brought into contact with it, and sentient nerves of the skin are fully impressed with the touch of external objects, carry the impression of their character and size to the brain, and the motor nerves carry the commands of the will to the muscular system, at the behests of the mind may be obeyed and carried out; the heart receives that in pure blood from all parts of the body, and sends it to the lungs to be purified, then receives it back again and forces it with enormous power even unto the most remote and my new part of the system; arteries and veins are made for the express purpose of conveying the “pabulum of life” from the heart, and to carry vitiated and poisonous fluid to the heart; the lungs throw off the carbonic acid in the venous fluid and replace it by oxygen; the stomach, by and with the aid of the salivary, biliary, pancreatic and intestinal juices, digest the food and transforms it into blood; the kidneys are designed as filters, to aid in the purification of the blood; thus we observe that the various tissues and organs of the body at each their own special use in the human economy, and their exact and definite function to perform; and as a result of the sum total of the proper required performance of all these different functions, we have not only harmony and health, but happiness of mind, soul and body as well.

  In case you were counting there are exactly 3 periods in this diatribe.  That last sentence is a doozy and probably one of the longest run-on sentences I’ve ever seen in print.  It goes on and on and on!  The grammar in this section is so distracting that it’s almost impossible to find other interesting aspects about this section.

  I will note that I was somewhat surprised to see Dragon Naturally Speaking correctly translate “pabulum of life.”

  This is a concept I believe that dates back to the era of the Royal Society.  If I understand it correctly the pabulum of life refers to that type of substance or matter that can generate heat or energy through digestion.  Ergo if you eat a cheeseburger, cheeseburger is the pabulum of life because it creates energy and heat in your bodily system so to say.  Here is an excerpt quoted from Theory of the Earth Part 4 that provides the phrase in context,

  IT is the nature of animal life to be ultimately supported from matter of vegetable production. Inflammable matter may be considered as the pabulum of life. This is prepared in the bodies of living plants, particularly in their leaves exposed to the sun and light. This inflammable matter, on the contrary, is consumed in animal bodies, where it produces heat or light, or both. Therefore, however animal matter, or the pabulum of life, may circulate through a series of digesting powers, it is constantly impaired or diminishing in the course of this oeconomy, and, without the productive power of plants, it would finally be extinguished.

  The inclusion of this phrase leads me to hypothesize (after reading this book too much into my words become a little heavier than normal) that this book which I believe a one-time event published in London probably included writers if not editors that were well-versed and the discussions and debates of the day from the Royal Society.  As this book was published in 1916, it’s also very likely that the Royal Society studies had become extremely dogmatic and in some ways were probably factionalized amongst the various philosophers and budding scientists of the day.

• Diet Pill Support Groups
  
  

  Here is an interesting concept.  You have probably heard of weight watchers which brings people together in a support group like setting and teaches them to assign points to the food they eat.

  The PhenForum is a support group for women that use Phentermine diet pills.  They can come together and share their views and lessons learned about dieting, losing weight and diet pills. 

  Unlike Weight Watchers that is one part support and one part dietary education, the PhenForum mixes support group methods with the power of diet drugs.  Many times people receive a prescription for a long term drug and do not get to share notes with other patients.  They are completely at the mercy of their doctor.

  That’s not entirely bad, but sometimes it helps to see how the drug is impacting, helping or hurting other people.  In this regard the PhenForum provides a useful social setting where people taking this prescription drug can share knowledge about their conditions as well as the drugs they are taking to alleviate that condition and lose weight.

• How to Destroy Bed Bugs
  
  

  How to Destroy Bed Bugs.– Spray with pure spirits or crude turpentine or benzine by using an ordinary nose and throat atomizer which can be bought in a drug store, all brass or wooden beds after scalding where possible with hot water, spray the crevices of floor, back of picture frames and where a house is “alive” with the pests repaper and paint rooms.

  These small little bugs are very difficult to see even when you know what you are looking for, dozens of them or their eggs could fit on a micro sd card that would go in a modern cell phone.

  Spirits of turpentine will kill where carbolic acid has failed. After each spraying, watch for the bedbugs as those which are not destroyed will hasten to escape and can be killed. Remember benzine and turpentine are inflammable and poisonous. No lights should be permitted in the rooms during or immediately following the use of these drugs. When articles cannot be sprayed, as books, etc., seal up the room and burn a sulphur candle. Place sulphur candle in a tin cup and place cup in a tin or metal pie plate containing water.