Biomedical science and biomedical scientists

This chapter provides an overview of biomedical science and the role of biomedical scientists. Biomedical science is often described as the application of the basic sciences, but especially the biological sciences, to the study of medicine, in particular, the causes, consequences, diagnosis, and treatment of human diseases. The title of biomedical scientist is a protected one and biomedical scientists are registered practitioners of the subject. They normally work in departments of clinical pathology. Thus, they are vital healthcare, scientifically qualified professionals who, for example, perform diagnostic tests on clinical samples of blood and urine. Given their role(s), biomedical scientists are typically active in laboratory-based work and tend to have a relatively limited contact with patients compared with other healthcare professionals.