Family practice is the branch of medicine concerning the total health care of the person and the family. A family practice physician can have a varied and extensive medical background, including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and geriatrics. A family physician has the skills and knowledge to provide care and health maintenance education for all ages. This physician is trained to diagnose and treat each member of the family, no matter what the problem.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are emphysema, broncho-esophagology, pneumonia, osteoarthritis , bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, asthma, pectus excavatum, osteoporosis, infection, diabetes, cancer, acne, alzheimer's disease, hypertension, autism, yeast infection, strep throat, anemia, and aneurysm.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including wart removal and mole removal.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including bone density test, faa-flight physicial, physicial / check up, physicial, biopsy, computed axial tomography (ct or cat scan), magnetic resonance imaging (mri), electrocardiogram (ecg or ekg), ultrasound, x-ray, blood test, upper gi (barium swallow), stool test, lower gi (barium enema), electrolyte test, microbiological culture, and ph probe test.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Illinois has 4,736 practicing family doctors. Broken out by city, family practice doctor density in Altamont is 3, in Alton is 23, in Anna is 17, in Aurora is 88, in Batavia is 10, in Belleville is 86, in Belvidere is 32, in Berwyn is 68, in Bloomington is 88, in Blue Island is 28, in Breese is 5, in Calumet City is 20, in Canton is 22, in Carbondale is 39, in Carterville is 8, in Carthage is 5, in Centralia is 10, in Champaign is 73, in Chicago is 1,276, in Chicago Heights is 39, in Cicero is 15, in Clinton is 15, in Columbia is 10, in Countryside is 3, in Crystal Lake is 20, in Danville is 68, in Decatur is 67, in Des Plaines is 70, in Dixon is 18, in East Moline is 16, in Edwardsville is 12, in Effingham is 24, in Elgin is 41, in Elmhurst is 27, in Elmwood is 1, in Eureka is 21, in Evanston is 43, in Fairbury is 16, in Farmington is 8, in Freeport is 24, in Galesburg is 32, in Geneva is 27, in Granite City is 14, in Greenville is 11, in Harrisburg is 13, in Harvard is 14, in Herrin is 19, in Highland is 5, in Highland Park is 19, in Jacksonville is 10, in Joliet is 50, in Kankakee is 18, in Kewanee is 9, in Lake Forest is 2, in Loves Park is 17, in Macomb is 17, in Marion is 18, in Mattoon is 33, in Moline is 56, in Morris is 13, in Mount Vernon is 18, in Murphysboro is 17, in Naperville is 88, in Normal is 41, in North Chicago is 6, in Oregon is 5, in Ottawa is 14, in Palos Heights is 19, in Park Ridge is 51, in Pekin is 32, in Peoria is 134, in Peru is 6, in Polo is 5, in Pontiac is 17, in Quincy is 55, in Rock Island is 7, in Rockford is 154, in Rolling Meadows is 5, in Salem is 12, in Sandwich is 9, in Silvis is 22, in Springfield is 108, in Sterling is 18, in Sullivan is 5, in Sycamore is 11, in Toulon is 3, in Troy is 6, in Urbana is 63, in Vandalia is 8, in Warrenville is 7, in Washington is 23, in Waterloo is 8, in Watseka is 10, in Waukegan is 15, in West Frankfort is 14, in Wheaton is 62, in Wood Dale is 7, in Woodstock is 21, in Yorkville is 13, and in Zion is 10.

Most people think that Chicago, because of its size and popularity, is Illinois’ capital city, but that distinction belongs to Springfield, home of the Abraham Lincoln Museum. Illinois has hundreds of museums, numerous yearly art and ethnic festivals, a lakeshore bordering Lake Michigan, and the many national forests and parks that offers visitors camping, horseback riding, biking, kayaking, and fishing. Chicago is home to the Sears Tower, the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, and other cultural opportunities and restaurants in the Navy Pier area.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Illinois has a population of 12,763,371. Of this population, 3,172,677 are under the age of 18 and 1,523,937 are at or above the age of 65.