Clinical specialties

In the United States, you’ll get your routine care from your primary care provider (PCP). 

But, when you have a complicated medical problem or need to have special tests, your PCP may refer you to a specialty provider at MIT Health or elsewhere. Do you know what these specialty services deal with?

  • Audiology: Hearing
  • Cardiology: Heart, blood pressure
  • Dental: Teeth, mouth, and gums
  • Dermatology: Skin
  • Dietary/Nutrition: Food, calories, special diets
  • ENT: Ear, nose, throat
  • Endocrinology: Hormones, glands, thyroid problems, diabetes
  • Gastroenterology: Stomach, intestines, digestion
  • Gynecology: Women’s health, birth control/contraception, Pap smears, reproductive health
  • Mammography: Breast cancer screening, like an X-ray to look for breast cancer
  • Neurology: Brain, nerves, migraine headaches
  • Obstetrics: Pregnancy, maternity care, labor and delivery (giving birth to a baby)
  • Ophthalmology: Eye exams, eye problems, getting glasses or contact lenses
  • Orthopedics: Bones, joints, tendons, cartilage, sprains, broken bones/fractures
  • Otolaryngology: Another name for “ENT” (ear-nose-throat)
  • Pulmonology: Lungs, breathing, asthma, severe cough
  • Radiology: X-ray
  • Rheumatology: Arthritis, joint pain