Examples of the two-way street connecting biochemistry and medicine. Knowledge of the biochemical molecules shown in the top part of the diagram has clarified our
understanding of the diseases shown on the bottom half—and conversely, analyses of the diseases shown below have cast light on many areas of biochemistry. Note that sickle cell
anemia is a genetic disease and that both atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus have genetic components.
The relationship between medicine and biochemistry has important implications for the former. As long as medical treatment is firmly grounded in the knowledge of biochemistry
and other basic sciences, the practice of medicine will have a rational basis that can be adapted to accommodate new knowledge. This contrasts with unorthodox health cults and at
least some "alternative medicine" practices that are often founded on little more than myth and wishful thinking and generally lack any intellectual basis.
Biochemistry is one important area of science. The many ways in which science is important for physicians (and equally so for other workers in health care or biology, whether
concerned with humans or animals) have been well stated in an article by Cooke (2010). They include (i) offering a foundational understanding on which one's practice should be built,
(ii) stimulating curiosity and creating the scientific habits that are essential for continual learning throughout one's career, (iii) showing how our present knowledge has been acquired,
and (iv) emphasizing the immensity of what is as yet unknown. Of course, it is vital that the application of science to helping a patient must be practised with humanity and the highest
ethical standards.