Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The age limit of such patients ranges from birth to 18.
In countries where the age of majority is 18, this age limit may be from birth to age 17 (such as in Canada). A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician.
The word ''pediatrics'' and its cognates mean ''healer of children''; they derive from two Greek words: (''pais'' = child) and (''iatros'' = doctor or healer).
In Commonwealth countries, the respective spellings paediatrics and paediatrician are usually preferred. There may be a slight semantic difference: in the USA, a ''pediatrician'' (US spelling) is often a primary care physician who specializes in children, whereas in the Commonwealth a ''paediatrician'' (British spelling) generally is a medical specialist not in primary general practice.
Pediatrics is a relatively new medical specialty, developing only in the mid-19th century. Abraham Jacobi (1830–1919) is known as the father of pediatrics because of his many contributions to the field.
Pediatrics differs from adult medicine in many respects. The obvious body size differences are paralleled by maturational changes. The smaller body of an infant or neonate is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. Congenital defects, genetic variance, and developmental issues are of greater concern to pediatricians than they often are to adult physicians.
Treating a child is not like treating a miniature adult. A major difference between pediatrics and adult medicine is that children are minors and, in most jurisdictions, cannot make decisions for themselves.
The issues of guardianship, privacy, legal responsibility and informed consent must always be considered in every pediatric procedure. In a sense, pediatricians often have to treat the parents and sometimes, the family, rather than just the child.
Adolescents are in their own legal class, having rights to their own health care decisions in certain circumstances.
Further Reading
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