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General practice
An old term for a medical practice in which all types of medical problems are seen. General practice involves knowledge of surgery, internal medicine (the study of the organs inside the body and diseases of these organs), pediatrics (the study of the care and development of children), and obstetrics. Obstetrics is the science that deals with the care of women and their fetuses (developing babies) during pregnancy and childbirth, and during the events that come before and soon after birth.

General practice has been replaced by family practice because the training of family practitioners is broader. In addition, training opportunities in general practice after graduation from medical school became limited and there was no way to become board certified in general practice, unlike in family practice. Board certification means that one has been recognized by a board of peers (other doctors in one's area of study) that he/she has met the rigorous standards necessary to practice in a specific field of study.

Someone who specializes in general practice is known as a general practitioner. General practice comes from the Latin word "genus" meaning "household," and the Greek word "praktikos" meaning "practice." Put the two words together and you have "class practice," where class refers to a group.

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