Pediatrics

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The age limit of such patients ranges from birth to 18. In countries where the age of majority is 18, this age limit may be from birth to age 17 (such as in Canada). A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician.

What is Pediatrics?

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and medical care of infants, children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of 18. The word “paediatrics” means “healer of children”; they are derived from two Greek words: (pais = child) and (iatros = doctor or healer). Paediatrics is a relatively new medical specialty, developing only in the mid-19th century. Abraham Jacobi (1830–1919) is known as the father of paediatrics.

Pediatrics Training

Pediatric Skin Conditions

Subspecialties of Pediatrics

Pediatrician: Role, Education, Training, Subspecialties

Infections in Childhood

A Brief History of Pediatrics

Child and Adolescent Sports Injuries

Importance of Sensory Stimulation for Babies

Supporting Children with Mental Health Disorders

How Fast Food Affects Children's Health

Mental Health Disorders and Children

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Effects of Passive Smoking on Children's Health

Latest Pediatrics News and Research

Pioneering the world’s first CRISPR medicine for sickle cell disease

When Vijay Sankaran was an MD-PhD student at Harvard Medical School in the mid-2000s, one of his first clinical encounters was with a 24-year-old patient whose sickle cell disease left them with almost weekly pain episodes.

3 Mar 2025

Advancing precision medicine for childhood cancer treatment

The first phase of the Stratified Medicine Paediatrics (SMPaeds1) programme is advancing precision medicine in the UK to help young cancer patients receive more targeted and less toxic treatments.

28 Feb 2025

Study demonstrates successful gene therapy for maple syrup urine disease

A study led by UMass Chan researchers demonstrated that a gene therapy to correct a mutation that causes maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) prevented newborn death, normalized growth, restored coordinated expression of the affected genes and stabilized biomarkers in a calf as well as in mice.

28 Feb 2025

Study highlights increase in VZV-induced CNS infections and dementia risk

Researchers from Fujita Health University, Japan, observed a rise in adult central nervous system (CNS) infections, primarily aseptic meningitis caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), post-2019. The researchers highlighted the potential of zoster vaccination to reduce CNS infections.

27 Feb 2025

New tool could revolutionize brain tumor surgery with rapid cancer cell detection

A novel tool for rapidly identifying the genetic "fingerprints" of cancer cells may enable future surgeons to more accurately remove brain tumors while a patient is in the operating room, new research reveals.

25 Feb 2025

Cooling treatment shows no benefits for preterm infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Lowering the body temperature of preterm infants (born at 33 to 35 weeks of pregnancy) with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)-a type of brain damage caused by oxygen loss-offers no benefits over standard care, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

25 Feb 2025

Scientists aim to regenerate lungs for premature infants with BPD

Understanding resilience - the ability of injured lung tissue to heal and regenerate - may be key to advancing the treatment and prevention of life-threatening lung disease that occurs in extremely premature babies, a new study suggests.

25 Feb 2025

CMV infection found to worsen necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants

Researchers say they found that infection with a common virus that can be transmitted from mother to fetus before birth significantly worsens an often-fatal complication of premature birth called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in experiments with mice.

24 Feb 2025

Texas measles outbreak nears 100 cases, raising concerns about undetected spread

Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus.

21 Feb 2025

FDA provides essential tips for safe infant formula handling

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees manufacturers of infant formulas and helps ensure that these products are safe and support healthy growth in infants who consume them.

20 Feb 2025

CPRIT awards nearly $23 million to MD Anderson for cancer research projects

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today was awarded nearly $23 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) in support of 20 cancer research projects to advance new breakthroughs in discovery, translational, clinical and prevention science.

20 Feb 2025

Study links screen time to increased risk of manic symptoms in preteens

Preteens who spend more time on screens are more likely to develop manic symptoms years two-years later, according to a new study published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

20 Feb 2025

Texas Children's and MD Anderson join hands to tackle childhood cancer

Texas Children's Hospital and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a transformational collaboration dedicated solely to pediatric cancer care.

20 Feb 2025

Children with ARFID at higher risk for long-term health conditions

Children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) have an elevated risk of developing psychiatric and physical conditions, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Pediatrics reports.

17 Feb 2025

Researchers identify genetic cause of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor Genetics and collaborating institutions provided a long-awaited and rare genetic diagnosis in a child with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a type of developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), associated with a severe, complex form of epilepsy and developmental delay.

14 Feb 2025

Flu-related neurologic events pose greater risk for children with pre-existing neurologic conditions

Many clinicians do not consider neurologic complications of the flu when discussing vaccination or treatment of influenza with families.

13 Feb 2025

Montana looks to regulate prior authorization as patients, providers decry obstacles to care

When Lou and Lindsay Volpe's son was diagnosed with a chronic bowel disease at age 11, their health insurer required constant preapproval of drugs and treatments — a process the Volpes say often delayed critical care for their son.

13 Feb 2025

Lung signals trigger blood clot formation in cancer patients

Blood clots form in response to signals from the lungs of cancer patients—not from other organ sites, as previously thought—according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and University of California San Diego Health. Clots are the second-leading cause of death among cancer patients with advanced disease or aggressive tumors.

11 Feb 2025

Children with peanut allergy achieve tolerance with gradual peanut butter ingestion

Eating gradually increasing doses of store-bought, home-measured peanut butter for about 18 months enabled 100% of children with peanut allergy who initially could tolerate the equivalent of at least half a peanut to consume three tablespoons of peanut butter without an allergic reaction, researchers report.

10 Feb 2025