[The conceptual values of community medicine]

The original basis of community-related medicine, hygiene, has academic traditions reaching back to early in the last century. The newer "free", "social medicine", burst forth after World War II. In the recent years, many new branches have arisen from these main trunks, e.g. public health, community medicine, epidemiology, occupational medicine, environmental medicine, health promotion etc. The new branches are frequently given designations that lead to false ideas of consistent conceptual structures that do not exist, and only contribute to considerable professional confusion. The author considers conceptual clarification to be urgent. A limited number of simple, understandable and logically developed main designations and classifications are needed. Scandinavian classification principles should be harmonized with common international concepts.