Department Introduction
ediatrics
 A pediatrician examines a newborn. | |
| Focus | Children and adolescents |
|---|---|
| Subdivisions | Pediatric cardiology, neonatology, critical care, pediatric oncology, others (see below) |
| Significant diseases | Congenital diseases, Infectious diseases, Childhood cancer |
| Significant tests | World Health Organization Child Growth Standards |
| Specialist | Pediatrician |
| Glossary | Glossary of medicine |
Pediatrics (also spelled paediatrics or pædiatrics) is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends people be under pediatric care up to the age of 21,[1] though usually only minors under 18 are required to be under pediatric care. A medical doctor who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, or paediatrician. The word pediatrics and its cognates mean "healer of children"; they derive from two Greek words: παῖς (pais "child") and ἰατρός (iatros "doctor, healer"). Pediatricians work both in hospitals, particularly those working in its subspecialties such as neonatology, and as outpatient primary care physicians.
