Many definitions in the field of medicine are vague and complex, often for historical reasons. No medical system has a scientific definition of health, disease, nor of cure. Definitions are often circular, to the extent that the World Health Organization’s ICD11, the latest edition of the International Classification of Diseases, claims to be “The global standard for health data.” The word cure is not defined in any authoritative medical reference, and does not appear in many medical dictionaries.
Healthicine is a new science. This provides the opportunity and the necessity to provide clear, useful definitions, from a healthicine perspective.
Healthicine – the arts and sciences of health and healthiness.
Hierarchy of Healthicine: comprised of genetics, nutrients, cells, tissues, organs, bodily systems, body, minds, spirits, and communities. Each transition upwards in the hierarchy can only come about from a community of individuals in the prior layer. Primary disciplines genetics, nutrition, cytology, histology, anatomy, systemic anatomy, physiology, cognitive physiology, spiritual studies and community studies.
Health (noun) “a measurable state of physical, mental and social well being.” It is important that health is measurable. Health is whole – and therefore any measure of healthiness is a percentage measurement. Health includes measures of healthiness, and the inverse of healthiness – unhealthiness.
Health: (verb) to improve healthiness.
Healthiness – a specific measure of health, measured on a percentage scale.
Unhealthiness – the inverse of a measure of healthiness. Healthiness is never perfect, and unhealthiness is always present. Unhealthiness can also be described as ‘potential for improvement in healthiness’.
Illness: an illness is a hole in health, a hole in a healthiness. An illness is the intersection of a cause and the negative consequences, including signs and symptoms. There are two basic types of illness, based on the present cause, the cure cause of the illness.
Attribute illnesses are caused by the deficiency, excess, absence or presence of a noun, a thing. They are cured by transforming the present cause, the noun such that the illness is no longer present. Attribute illnesses include infections, physical illnesses like cataracts, hernia, and injuries.
Causal illnesses are caused by the deficiency, excess, absence or presence of a verb, a process. They are cured by transforming the process cause such that the illness is no longer present. Causal illnesses include arthritis, diabetes, scurvy and obesity.
The distinction between attribute illnesses and causal illnesses is defined by the cure. When an illness is cured by a process, it was a causal illness. When it is cured by an attribute change, it was an attribute illness. Until it is cured, the type might be speculated, but cannot be proven.
Note: our medical systems often classify diseases into acute – eg. dangerous, and chronic, but this classification is often weak from a perspective of health and cure.
Cure: A cure is the end of an illness. There are two basic types of cures, based on the cure process.
Injury illnesses are cured by healing. When an illness is cured by healing, it was an attribute illness, caused by the attribute that was transformed by the healing.
Non-injury illnesses are cured by addressing the attribute or process cause. There are two basic types of non-injury illness cures:
- attribute illnesses are cured by the transformation of an attribute. These cures are on-time actions resulting in a permanent cure. If the cause occurs again, a new illness will emerge.
- causal illnesses are cured by a process that addresses the causal process. The cure is permanent, but the curative process must be maintained. If the curative process fails or is changed, a new case of the illness will emerge.
Disease:
- is a name given to a group of related illnesses or related symptoms for medical classification and statistical purposes.
- a disease is a name given to a case of illness at the time of diagnosis. Many illnesses cannot be diagnosed, because no disease is defined to match the case.
