What is pre-clinical medicine or clinical medicine?

Well I was researching on what i can do with my a levels in uni and came across pre clinical medicine and clinical medicine. I tried looking it up but it makes no sense to me. I would really appreciate it if some tells me what it's is.

pre-clinical = a couple (typically 2/3) of years of lectures at the start of medical school covering basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, molecular biology etc). Patient contact tradiationally very limited in this time.

clinical = the proceeding 2/3 years, most time is spent on the ward taking histories from and examining patients. Content of course is more how to diagnose and manage disease rather than the underpinning science.

For example in hypertension: a pre-clinical student would learn the anatomy of vessels, the histology of the endothelium and the physiology and pharmacology of vascular tone - a clinical student would learn how to classify it and which drugs to use in which doses in what order as well as the potential complications of uncontrolled hypertension and how to recognise and manage these.

Thank you makes much more sense now. Do you know what uni does them in London?

there are 5 london medical schools: Barts, GKT, UCL, Imperial and George's.

Thanks. Is clinical medicine a degree?

Medicine as a degree = pre-clinical medicine + clinical medicine

In some places that distinction no longer exists and the course is integrated.