Abstract
Preventive medicine aims to eliminate disease and reduce mortality and morbidity. In that respect it does not differ from curative health care. The etymological basis of ‘prevention’ is the Latin word ‘praevenire’, which means to be or to come before; or to come in time. A ‘praeventor’ is a soldier who starts the attack. Preventive medicine intends to combat disease before it will be manifest. By intervening in time, it may be possible to prevent a person from becoming ill. Consequently, preventive interventions are directed at people who are not ill (yet). The object of prevention is to reduce the number of people that will suffer from certain manifest diseases.2
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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Verweij, M. (2000). What is Preventive Medicine?. In: Preventive Medicine between Obligation and Aspiration. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9365-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9365-6_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5605-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-9365-6
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