While the image of the hometown doctor with his stethoscope and thermometer is an ingrained part of our idea of the medical profession, the modern doctor is in fact surrounded by a plethora of complex machines that help with the work of keeping us healthy. Of course the microscope is a traditional piece of office equipment and allows visual access to the world of microorganisms, even these have grown powerful enough to almost make out the atomic structure of the tiny sources of illness.



Diagnostic machines help give the doctor a good look at the various parts of the body to investigate what may be a problem. The ultrasound machine can give a three dimensional representation of the organs without having to cut the body open and see. MRI scanners will even show the intricacies of the brain and its functions. Different diagnostic machines will view the heart and lungs and, of course, the X-ray will find most foreign objects while checking the bones for breaks.

There are many medical monitors available to keep a constant eye on a patient and record every action the body takes. ECG and EEG machines will monitor heart rate, respiration and even the brain wave activity of our minds at work. Other monitors will analyze the very components of the blood to find any dangers there.

There are medical machines that provide therapeutic value to the doctor's cause as well. Among these are infusion pumps and ventilators. Laser surgery machines can offer more precise tools that steel blades for delicate operations. Some, like the LASIK surgical machine can even shave the cornea of the eye to improve vision.

A medical laboratory is as likely to give the appearance of a machine shop as a medical facility. With the help of these technological wonders, just about every part of your body can be probed and tested to determine what is wrong and offer the chance to find ways to correct it. Different machines can analyze not only blood and other bodily excretions but can look at the very genetic makeup of our selves.

Medical machines are not limited to the office, hospital or laboratory. Many medical machines are inserted directly into the body to keep it functioning. Artificial heart machines will allow life to continue and insulin pumps provide the necessary balance for diabetics to keep them from coma and death. Other prosthetic devices act as the arms and legs of a person who has lost an organic limb.

Current research is swiftly developing microscopic medical machines. Nano technology is striving to create machines that are sometimes only a few molecules big that can be injected directly into the body and repair it from the inside. Already there are a few of these micromachines that have been effective against tumors. The next step is to create these tiny tools to be able to replace bulkier artificial organs in favor of having them monitor and regulate organ activity without having to resort to often impossible or extremely invasive surgical procedures.

With the aid of their vast army of medical machines, the medical profession hopes to some day be able to conquer every problem that besets the human body. Whether they are huge iron lungs or dialysis machines or microscopic nanobots, these technological marvels are the defining tools of the modern medical profession.