Simplicity - the key to fruitful medical research

Abstract

Medical research is here divided -into two broad categories. The great majority of research is "complex" and includes all studies of intricate body mechanisms. A minority of research is "simple" and deals mainly with direct relationships between human environmental or lifestyle factors and disease incidence (or with analogous studies on animals). In addition, it includes studies of simple body mechanisms. Examples are provided to demonstrate that most of our medical knowledge of practical benefit derives from simple research. This is particularly the case in the area of prevention.