ABSTRACT
Physicians now possess the uncanny ability to see deep within the body without incisions, peering through skin and bone to gaze at the unborn child sucking its thumb, or to detect the potentially deadly action of a tumor. They “see” through the eyes of revolutionary new technologies: endoscopy, ultrasound imaging, computed tomography (CT or CAT), nuclear medicine imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and many others. At the same time, the science and technology that so dramatically reveal the body's anatomy and function have been harnessed for healing in techniques such as endoscopic surgery, laser surgery, and radiation therapy. These technologies are increasingly being combined with methods drawn from our growing knowledge of the human genome and molecular biology to produce a new age of individualized “molecular” medicine.
