Women's health: Not for women only

Because most medical investigation traditionally has been restricted to men, many of our models of normal human physiology and of the pathophysiology of disease are skewed. The current interest in women's health has led us to concentrate on the differences between men and women; indeed, a survey of already published data reveals that there are significant variations in the normal function of virtually all the systems in the body. Furthermore, each of the sexes experiences disease differently in many important respects: coronary artery disease is a well-understood example of how gender determines the pathobiology of illness. As our understanding of the impact of gender on the mechanism of disease expands, our treatment of illness will become more focused and accurate. Sex-specific prescribing may well become the norm as the science of gender-specific medicine expands.