Human health and medicine

Photothermal therapy

Photothermal therapy, also called cancer photothermal therapy, is a cancer treatment in which light-absorbing agents convert near-infrared laser light into heat that kills tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue.

PHQ-9

The PHQ-9, or Patient Health Questionnaire-9, is a public-domain nine-item questionnaire introduced in 1999 that screens for and grades depression severity, with scores of 10 or higher suggesting major depression.

Phrenic nerve

Phrenic nerve (nervus phrenicus): bilateral mixed nerve from C3-C5 (mainly C4) that is the sole motor supply of the diaphragm and sensory nerve of its center, pericardium, and mediastinal pleura; injury causes hemidiaphragm paralysis.

Phrenic nerve stimulation

Phrenic nerve stimulation is a clinical neurophysiology technique that activates the phrenic nerve, the diaphragm's sole motor supply, to test diaphragm function or treat central sleep apnea.

Phthalylsulfathiazole

Phthalylsulfathiazole (Sulfathalidine, Фталазол), ATC A07AB02, is a poorly absorbed sulfonamide prodrug releasing sulfathiazole in the colon; discovered by Poth and Ross in 1943, DDD 9 g oral, used for intestinal infections.

Phthisis bulbi

Phthisis bulbi (end-stage eye), ICD-11 9C22.1, is the shrunken, collapsed, non-functional globe after severe trauma, uveitis, infection, surgery, or tumor; vision loss is permanent, managed by pain relief and prosthetic rehabilitation.

Phyllodes tumor of the breast

Phyllodes tumor of the breast, also called cystosarcoma phyllodes, is a rare fibroepithelial breast tumor graded benign, borderline, or malignant by WHO histological criteria, treated mainly by surgical excision with local recurrence rates of 8 to 18 percent.

Phyllodes tumor of the prostate

Phyllodes tumor of the prostate, also called cystic epithelial-stromal tumor or cystosarcoma phyllodes, is a rare biphasic prostatic neoplasm resembling breast phyllodes tumor; fewer than 100 cases reported, recurring after TURP, metastasizing to lung, bone, liver.

Phymatous rosacea

Phymatous rosacea, formerly subtype 3, is rosacea with skin thickening from sebaceous hyperplasia and fibrosis, most often rhinophyma of the nose; it is a diagnostic phenotype treated mainly with surgery and lasers.

Oct 20, 2026

Physical conditions

Physical conditions: the physical environment component of the determinants of health, covering safe water, clean air, housing, workplaces, and roads, with historical roots in the 1840s public health movement and occupational medicine.

Physical disability

Physical disability: limitation in mobility, dexterity, or stamina, framed by the WHO ICF as impairment plus activity and participation restrictions. Over a billion people affected worldwide; 1 in 4 U.S. adults; shaped by medical, social, and biopsychosocial models and disability rights law.

Physical education

Physical education (PE, 体育课, éducation physique) is the school subject teaching movement skills, fitness, and health knowledge; typically under 50% of lesson time is MVPA, and two-thirds of secondary pupils worldwide miss minimum weekly PE.

Physical examination

Physical examination: bedside assessment using inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Covers exam structure, sign accuracy (median LR+ 3.4), the annual check-up debate, Medicare wellness visits, POCUS, and OSCE-based certification.

Physical Exertion

Physical exertion (physical effort, exercise intensity) is energy expenditure during physical activity, measured by oxygen consumption, heat production, heart rate, or Borg's perceived exertion scales; central to exercise prescription and thermoregulation.

Physical fitness

Physical fitness is a set of attributes people have or achieve relating to the ability to perform physical activity, described through components such as cardiorespiratory fitness and strength.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R, physiatry) is the medical specialty restoring function in nerve, muscle, bone, and brain disorders. Recognized as a US specialty in 1947; shaped by war, polio, and Baruch philanthropy.

Physical performance testing

Physical performance testing is a set of standardized clinical assessments in which patients perform quantified physical tasks, such as the SPPB and Timed Up and Go, to measure strength, balance, and mobility.

Oct 20, 2026

Physical Restraint

Physical restraint: any manual method, device, or equipment that restricts a person's free movement, used in hospitals, nursing homes, psychiatry, and law enforcement. Evidence shows it does not reduce falls and carries harms including delirium, nerve injury, and death.

Physical Therapists

Physical therapists (physiotherapists) are licensed rehabilitation clinicians who assess and treat movement dysfunction with exercise, manual therapy, and modalities; US entry requires a DPT degree, with direct access self-referral and 10-plus board specialties.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy, also called physiotherapy, is a health care profession in which licensed physical therapists examine and treat people whose movement is limited by injury, disease, or aging.

Physical Therapy Modalities

Physical therapy modalities: MeSH-defined therapeutic techniques and physical agents (exercise therapy, TENS, ultrasound, shockwave, heat, cold, manipulation) used by physical therapists, with evidence, safety, and adherence data.

Physician assistant

Physician assistant (PA), also called physician associate: a licensed U.S. clinician practicing medicine in every specialty under team-based physician collaboration. Founded 1965 at Duke by Eugene Stead; 200,000+ PAs, NCCPA-certified (PA-C), 27-month master's programs.

Physicians' Offices

Physicians' Offices (MeSH D010824): rooms where a physician and staff provide patient care, including the full office suite. Covers US office-based practice scale, ADA exam-room accessibility, EHR adoption, ownership consolidation, and office versus hospital outpatient payment.

Physiologic and autonomic bradycardia

Physiologic and autonomic bradycardia is a slow heart rate arising from normal autonomic regulation, chiefly increased parasympathetic (vagal) tone, seen during sleep, rest, and reflex states like vasovagal reactions.

Physiologic anisocoria

Physiologic anisocoria, also called simple or essential anisocoria, is benign unequal pupil size of 1 mm or less, equal in light and dark, affecting up to 20% of people and requiring no treatment.

Physiologic Monitoring

Physiologic monitoring, also called patient monitoring, is continuous measurement of physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration, spanning bedside monitors, pulse oximetry, ambulatory and wearable devices, telemetry, and alarm management.

Physiological Adaptation

Physiological adaptation (MeSH D000222) is the non-genetic biological change of an organism to environmental challenges, within one lifetime; includes acclimatization, allostasis, thermotolerance, and phenotypic plasticity, distinct from genetic adaptation.