Departments

The major topics of the Department of Forensic Medicine can be categorized into forensic pathology, medical genetics and medical jurisprudence. Changes after death and findings associated with various kinds of injuries are our major interests in forensic pathology. We deal daily with autopsies referred from various accidents, and each case is supported by individual identification using DNA fingerprints. Furthermore, we focus on studying various social problems that are caused by conflicts between medicine and legal theory. Based on such academic studies and hands-on experiences in forensic medicine, we try to educate students to competently cope with various issues comprised of social and medical conflicts and to apply knowledge on different kinds of situations dealing with the dead.

We deal with basic immunology including, 1) the building blocks of the immune systems cells, organs, and the major receptor molecules including antibodies, T cell receptors and MHC molecules, 2) the initiation of the immune response, leading from presentation and co-stimulation through cell activation pathways to the actions of cytokines, and 3) the principle effector arms of the immune response, such as TH2 responses with antibody production, TH1 responses and molecular phagocytes and cytotoxicity including Tc cells and NK cells. Based on our research background, we try to provide students with a sound understanding of the immune responses, which underlie clinically important areas, namely defense against infection, hypersensitivity states and allergies, immunopathology, tumor immunotherapy and transplantation.

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Jeonbuk National University Medical School is located in the Life Science Building of the Medical School. The department is composed of four faculty members who direct their own independent research programs and are responsible for supervising postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and one administrative staff. The principal research emphasis of the department is directed towards understanding microbial pathogenesis and host defense against infectious agents, stem cell biology and gene therapeutic approaches for complex diseases and chronic infectious diseases. In addition to their research activities, our faculty members are responsible for teaching courses in medical microbiologyand genetics to medical and graduate students

Pathology is literally the study (logos) of suffering (pathos). In this course, students learn the basic concepts of disease, including its causes (etiology), mechanisms of its development (pathogenesis), the structural alterations disease induces in the cells and organs of the body (morphologic changes), and the functional consequences of these morphologic changes (clinical significance). Lectures, microscopic observation sessions, basic pathologic experiments and practice of anatomic pathology sessions are given to freshmen andsophomores. The students are required to acquire basic pathologic knowledge in human diseases and the ability to properly describe pathogenesis. The Department of Pathology consists of six faculty members and performs important educational roles for medical and post-graduate students. All faculty members are actively involved in research activities which are reflected in the publication list. Pathology is a major discipline that bridges basic science and clinical practice. The clinical service provided by the Department of Pathology is also of great importance. The clinical service is categorized into several areas: surgical pathology, cytopathology, immuno-molecular pathology and electron microscopic pathology. The Department of Pathology aims to enhance patient care and treatment by providing recommendations and findings of tests on tissues, specimens and cells collected from patients.

Pharmacology is the study of the interactions between chemicals and living systems. The Pharmacology course covers phamacodynamics, pharmacokinectics, chemotherapy, pharmacy pharmacotherapeutics and toxicology

The Department of Physiology is home to research and teaching focused on understanding the basic mechanisms of fundamentally important life processes. Physiology is concerned with the function of organisms at many stages of organization, from the sub-cellular level to the intact organism. In the healthy human, many variables are maintained within narrow limits. The list of controlled variables includes body temperature, blood pressure, ionic composition of the body's various fluid compartments, blood glucose levels, and oxygen and carbon dioxide contents of the blood. This ability to maintain relative constancy of such critical variables, even in the face of substantial environmental changes, is known as homeostasis. One of the central goals of physiological research is the elucidation of homeostatic mechanisms. Especially, the research interests of department faculty include the regulation of body fluids and blood pressure via the hormonal system; the renin-angiotensin system, atrial natriuretic peptide system, and other peptide hormones. We are also interested in molecular cell biology as well as cell physiology. Our faculty members are deeply engaged in technology development specializing in various methods for secretion of the peptide hormone and its receptor function. Our teaching mission includes medical courses in physiology as well as graduate courses. In addition, we offer advanced courses in a wide range of specialty areas reflecting the research interests of our faculty.

The goal of the Preventive Medicine is to preserve and promote health in our community through preventing diseases or eradicating hazardous environments which surround the human society. This field offers courses to evaluate the effects on health and diseases in various environmental situations by epidemiological and socio-medical approaches. Our health management system should also be studied by medical students to understand secondary and tertiary prevention.

Many sophisticated and complex procedures are performed at our hospital, including congenital cardiac procedures, adult open heart surgery, extensive and sophisticated neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery. All patients are potential teaching cases. Assignments of cases to residents are made by anesthesiology staff members, and every attempt is made to tailor daily work assignments to resident experience levels and educational need. The clinical activities of the department outside the operating rooms are increasing. There is an active Pain Clinic for diagnosis and treatment of intractable pain using various approaches. Subarachnoid, epidural, and sympathetic nerve blocks are routinely performed. Increasingly, the clinic is involved in the care of cancer patients who typically require pharmacological and other treatments. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is staffed by members of the Department of Anesthesiology who have wide experience in managing acute situations and are skilled in the care of critically ill patients. These anesthesiology staff members are responsible for the administrative and medical supervision of the ICU.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering was established for research and development purposes and also the maintenance of high-tech medical equipment and devices. Biomedical engineering refers to the application of engineering techniques to problems in medicine and biology. The interplay among the physical sciences， engineering， biology， and the medical sciences takes many forms. Students have a chance to understand the basic concepts and applications of engineering in medicine. The topics covered in this course are medical physics, biomedical instrumentation, medical imaging， biomechanical artificial organs， biomaterials，radiation transports and simulation， radiation detectors, sensor devices and new technologies for medical devices.

The Department of Dermatology was established at the Jeonbuk National University Medical School in 1978. The residency training program and the Ph.D. program in dermatology began in 1979 and 1993 respectively. Currently, the department is staffed by three Facultymembers and seven residents. In the university hospital the department keeps threebeds, three out-patient clinics, one operation room, one laser treatment room, one clinical laboratory, one dermatological skin care room, and two phototherapy rooms. The average number of outpatients per year is between 20,000 and 25,000 and the annual number of inpatients is about 120.

The aim of the diagnostic radiology course is to produce competent doctors who are well equipped with the basic knowledge of medical imaging relevant to medical practice. To achieve this aim, the department is divided into several parts: Gastrointestinal Radiology, Interventional Radiology, Thoracic and cardiac Radiology, Neuroradiology, Uroradiology, Pediatric Radiology, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Breast Radiology. The course consists of 40 hours of intensive lectures during the fourth semester of the first year and 20 hours of block lecture during second and third year studies. For 2 weeks during fourth year studies, 10-12 person teams go to polyclinics for practical training.

The Emergency Department offers lectures and clinical instruction in the field of Emergency Medicine during the first half of the fourth year of medical school. The lectures consist of general concepts of emergency medicine, cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation, traumatology, toxicology, disaster medicine, and environmental emergencies. Major concerns of bedside teaching are the patients' emergency treatment from the initial emergency management and the resuscitation phase to a more definitive care and proper disposition through continued clinical and diagnostic evaluation. Clinical training also includes ward rounding, journal meetings, and case presentations. This two-week course yields two credits. Emergency Department at Jeonbuk National University Hospital, a tertiary care referral center with 35,000 annual ED visits, is a 42-bed department staffed by three full-time, professors who are board certified in Emergency Medicine, seven residents, and nursing staff with specialized emergency training. As part of the National Plan for an Emergency Medical Network, our department at Jeonbuk National University Hospital serves a leading role as a Regional Emergency Center for the Metropolitan Area and has the 1339 Emergency Information Center.

Laboratory medicine is a field of medical science, closely associated with all fields of medicine, that provides clinical laboratory testing for diagnosis of illness, prognosis prediction, and treatment evaluation with patient-derived specimens. The Department is subdivided into six sections, namely Diagnostic Hematology, Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Immunoserology, Blood bank, and Molecular and cytogenetic diagnostics. In this course, the department teaches hematopathology, clinical microbiology, and introduction to laboratory medicine, as well as the laboratory medicine teaching within the clerkship. Laboratory Medicine Facultymembers emphasize the fundamentals of laboratory medicine for each section and how to use the laboratory data (results) for clinical diagnoses and effective follow-up. Emphasis is placed on the principles, interpretations and pitfalls in laboratory methods as well. The course is covered in various block lectures and yields one credit for teaching within the polyclinic clerkship.

The Nuclear Medicine Department at the Medical School of Jeonbuk National University, organized as a separate department in 1993, remains one of the best-equipped nuclear medicine services in the Jeonbuk area - and certainly one of the busiest. Together, the four professors, two residents, ten technicians, two nurses, and five researchers in our department annually perform over 20,000 imaging studies, 80,000 in-vitro studies as well as providing treatment of thyroid disease for 300 patients.

The Department of Neurology in Jeonbuk National University Medical School is dedicated to patient care, education and research. The department is staffed by four professors, one clinical professor and five residents within a number of subspecial divisions, including Cerebrovascular disease, Dementia, Peripheral nervous system disease, Movement disorders, and Degenerative Neurological diseases. Currently, we are running the development-Botox clinic and the clinic for stroke patients and are planning to establish clinics for dementia, dizziness, epilepsy in order to effectively contribute to the improvement of neurology nationawide.

The department of Neurosurgery deals with disease of central and peripheral nervous system as well as problems of skull and spine. Diseases of Neurosurgical field include brain and spinal cord tumors (primary and metastatic lesions), vascular disease (aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, intracerebral hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction), functional disorders (Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, spastic disorder, hemifacial spasm, and trigeminal neuralgia), epilepsy, head trauma (skull fracture, acute epidural hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage), spine and spinal cord disease (herniated disc, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament, vertebral dislocation, fracture of vertebral body, and transverse myelitis, and infection). Neurointerventinal treatment for aneurysm, cerebral infarction and tumor embolization, EEG monitoring for epilepsy patients, and Gamma-knife surgery for brain and skullbase tumors, deep brain stimulation are having been done in the department of neurosurgery. nienter for comprehensive treatment of epilepsy and Parkinson's disease has been regareded as a leading one in Korea.

The objective of the clinical gynecology department is to acquire a basic understanding of the female reproductive organs, gynecological diseases, and their diagnosis and treatment. The objective of obstetrics is to acquire a basic understanding of the phenomena and treatment principles of normal and abnormal pregnancies, the process of delivery, and puerperium. Accordingly, students are required to learn and practice the fundamental skills of obstetric and gynecological procedures during clinical training in order to acquire the ability of primary care physicians.

The ophthalmology course provides lectures during the second semester of the second year and bedside teaching during the first semester of the fourth year. The lecture is allocated two hours per week (1.5 credits). Bedside teaching is allocated one hour per week (0.5 credit).

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is dedicated to inspiring students, residents, fellows and Facultyto work towards discovery of the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and resources needed to deliver quality patient care. Further, the Department is determined to provide comprehensive orthopaedic medical and surgical care to a broad range of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The fellowship-trained surgeon Facultyprovides expert and personalized surgical approachesto the bone and joint problems that threaten the comfort and function of thousands of individuals each year. These surgeons combine decades of experience, knowledge of the world's literature and their own cutting edge research to optimize the approaches to the vast range of conditions that can be effectively managed by hip and knee reconstruction, arthroscopic surgery, hand and microsurgery, spine surgery, pediatric orthopaedic surgery, shoulder and elbow surgery, foot and ankle surgery, orthopaedic trauma surgery, as well as tumor surgery. The department of orthopaedic surgery at Jeonbuk National University was established in 1974. Since that time the department has produced 61 orthopaedic specialists, some of whom work in a number of different University Hospitals with outstanding outcomes, while others devote their skills to the development of their community. At present, Our Department has 6 full-time Faculty, 1 clinical affiliated Faculty, 3 fellows, and 10 residents that participate in clinical and research activities

Welcome to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the Medical School of Jeonbuk National University. Our Department was established in 1970 with the objectives of providing excellent teaching for medical students, residents and fellows in order to provide outstanding clinical care for the residents of Jeonlabukdo, model patient care, and the advancement of knowledge through scholarly activities.

Pediatrics deals with the health, growth and development of infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatricians are always concerned with their opportunity to achieve full potential as adults. Our Department of Pediatrics covers Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Neonatology, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Pediatric Nephrology, Pediatric neurology, Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology, and Health Care of Adolescents. Each member of the Facultyis actively engaged in either or both of the clinical and basic research areas in the field of Pediatrics, and endeavors at professional medical education

Plastic and reconstructive surgery is a specialized branch of surgery dealing with the repair of deformities and the correction of functional deficits. The department of plastic and reconstructive surgery is divided into two parts: aesthetic surgery and reconstructive surgery. Aesthetic surgery includes cosmetic surgery of the eyelid and nose, facial contouring, liposuction, facelifts, and the correction of body deformities. Reconstructive surgery rebuilds physically damaged parts resulting from burns, facial fractures, congenital craniofacial anomalies, cleft lip, cleft palate, maxillofacial deformities, facial palsy, head and neck cancer, skin tumors, anomalies of the hand and foot, and trauma, with the goal of restoring patients to a normal state. Microsurgery helps restore hand function after trauma and helps restore coverage of the body surface in free flap surgery after trauma or tumor ablation. In addition, an Ultrapulse CO2 laser purchased in 1997 is used for facial resurfacing and other superficial skin lesions with good results.

The Psychiatry Department consists of outpatient clinics (adult, geriatric, and child-adolescent psychiatry, etc.), two inpatient wards (1 open and 1 closed), special clinics (stress clinic, depressive & bipolar disorders clinic, early psychosis clinic, Youth clinic, child-adolescent clinic and sleep disorders clinic), the division of clinical psychology, various labs for psychological testing, computerized neuropsychological test, biofeedback, polysomnography & sleep evaluation, and various psychosocial programs for psychiatric patients. The important objectives of psychiatry are to teach and train medical students to become competent primary physicians and psychiatric residents, and to provide clinically good-quality services for psychiatric patients (mood disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, substance use disorders, personality disorders, mental disorders in child & adolescence, sleep disorders, eating disorders, sexual disorders and organic mental disorders.

The Department of Therapeutic Radiology makes every effort to increase the cancer cure rate and to improve the quality of life through basic oncological and clinical research. The education of medical personnel is provided through lectures and clinical and practical courses for medical students, radiotherapy technologists, medical physicists, and clinical fellows. Recently, IMRT (Intensity Modified Radiation Therapy) or IGRT (Imaging Guided Radiation Therapy) has been introduced. So optimal treatment volume is able to selected and irradiated so that normal tissue or organ around tumors is protected as soon as possible.

The Rehabilitation Medicine field analyzes and treats not only physically disabled people but also patients suffering from musculoskeletal pain, with the main objective of developing their physical, mental, and social potential to their maximum abilities and creating opportunities for them to enjoy their lives fully. Our department is energetically carrying out specialized rehabilitation services encompassing diverse fields such as stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, musculoskeletal and neural pain, electro diagnostic medicine, orthosis and prosthesis, delayed development, swallowing difficulty, lymph edema, biomechanics and kinetics, etc. Current research focuses on the rehabilitation of cognitive function, spinal cord injury, neuro-musculo-skeletal pain, electrodiagnostic medicine, urodynamic study devices, etc. Furthermore, our service is supported by many paramedical personnel and specialized settings: rehabilitation exercise gymnasium, computerized cognitive function training room, physical modality room, Bobath and Vojta therapy room, lymphedema room, occupational therapy room, speech therapy room, isokinetic exercise room, hydrotherapy room, etc.

Department of Surgery in Jeonbuk National University Medical School is dedicated to patient care, education and research. The surgical team is staffed by ten professors, four fellows, sixteen residents within four division including Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hepatobiliary-Pancreas and Transplantation Surgery, Breast and Endocrine Surgery and Pediatric Surgery. We surgeons perform a wide variety of operations related to the department of surgery, including gastric cancer, colo-rectal cancer, hepatoma, pancreas and biliary tract cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, abdominal organ transplant, trauma, vascular procedure. We Surgery's mission is to provide operation for patients with the least pain, trauma, scarring and recovery time. We also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to medical students, residents and fellows

In the trend of a modern aging society, the areas of prostate disease, urologic oncology, voiding dysfunction and female urological disease come to the fore. The Department of Urology, on the cutting edge of ever-changing advanced medical technology, exerts every effort to provide the best medical services possible while considering accurate diagnosis and therapy and quality of life upon completion of medical therapy. The department specializes in using various minimally invasive surgeries, up-to-date operating methods and advanced operating technologies for using laparoscopic and cryosurgical systems. Each of our surgeons is board-certified in urology and has subspecialty training in specific areas, such as kidney disease, prostate disease, bladder control or infertility. This sub-specialization enables our physicians to develop innovative procedures and to gain valuable experience that translates into positive results for our patients.

The Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery is actively involved in providing professional education, research, and medical care. The department is a subspecial part of the surgery dealing with respiratory (lung cancer, infectious, congenital diseases), cardiac (congenital, valvular, coronary diseases), vascular (aortic aneurysm, dissection), esophageal, chest wall (congenital, tumor, traumatic), diaphragmatic, and mediastinal system diseases.