In a nutshell? It pertains to almost everything.
Almost every diagnosis and treatment has to be based on evidenced and functioning biology and chemistry. Understanding the functioning of different biochemical processes both intra- and extra-cellularly and their significance and constituents in pathology.
For one of any possible thousands of examples, when one sends off a blood sample for analysis for x, y and z enzymes to assess exempli gratia liver function, one is looking for the concentrations of a set of enzymes. If x enzyme is elevated, one wants to know what this means, which means one must also know why it could be elevated. To know and understand this, one must know the normal function, location et cetera of the enzyme, and thus why it could be elevated and what its effects could be; and as such a physician must be educated in the biochemistry in the human body.
This applies equally in treatment. When prescribing a medicine, one must understand how and why it has an effect, and the mechanism of its action so that one can predict side-effects and also select the best medicine for the specific disorder, in addition to the argument that a physician should always know and understand what he/she is prescribing. How does one understand medicines? Well, one must understand how they are absorbed, metabolised, how the effect a response... Some medicines, for example, are entirely inert in the form that they are found in the pill that you take! They then rely on being activated by biochemical reactions in your body - whether in digestion, or in metabolism by the liver that releases a whole new compound from the medicine that is active. Sometime this even occurs on the second pass through your liver with 2 inert stages, and sometimes it produces an active product on the first pass, which is than metabolised again to produce *another* active product!
In short, it's pretty much relevant to everything in medicine.
Almost every diagnosis and treatment has to be based on evidenced and functioning biology and chemistry. Understanding the functioning of different biochemical processes both intra- and extra-cellularly and their significance and constituents in pathology.
For one of any possible thousands of examples, when one sends off a blood sample for analysis for x, y and z enzymes to assess exempli gratia liver function, one is looking for the concentrations of a set of enzymes. If x enzyme is elevated, one wants to know what this means, which means one must also know why it could be elevated. To know and understand this, one must know the normal function, location et cetera of the enzyme, and thus why it could be elevated and what its effects could be; and as such a physician must be educated in the biochemistry in the human body.
This applies equally in treatment. When prescribing a medicine, one must understand how and why it has an effect, and the mechanism of its action so that one can predict side-effects and also select the best medicine for the specific disorder, in addition to the argument that a physician should always know and understand what he/she is prescribing. How does one understand medicines? Well, one must understand how they are absorbed, metabolised, how the effect a response... Some medicines, for example, are entirely inert in the form that they are found in the pill that you take! They then rely on being activated by biochemical reactions in your body - whether in digestion, or in metabolism by the liver that releases a whole new compound from the medicine that is active. Sometime this even occurs on the second pass through your liver with 2 inert stages, and sometimes it produces an active product on the first pass, which is than metabolised again to produce *another* active product!
In short, it's pretty much relevant to everything in medicine.