A regimen is a plan, or course of action such as a
diet,
exercise
Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.
It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...
or
medical treatment
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...
. A
low-salt diet is a regimen. A course of
penicillin
Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...
is a regimen, and there are many
chemotherapy regimens in the treatment of
cancer.
History
The work, ''Regimen in Acute Diseases'', attributed to the ancient Greek physician,
Hippocrates of Cos
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
, describes the types and usage of medical regimens in his era (400 BCE). This is perhaps the first appearance of the
term.
PubMed at the
US National Library of Medicine lists over 220,000 articles using the term "regimen" from 1892 to January 2013. In the context of medieval medicine, regimen referred to the careful management of habits, diet, and schedule to keep the four
humors in equilibrium. By manipulating the six non-naturals (airs, diet, sleep, exercise, evacuation, and emotion) a person could keep track of their physical and mental wellbeing by attending to regimen.
Usage in statistics
In economic statistics, a regimen refers to the selected goods and/or services priced for the purpose of compiling a
price index. The most well known example is the
consumer price index
A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time.
Overview
A CPI is a statistica ...
.
References
Therapy
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