HMS
HMS is the abbreviation for His Majesty's Ship (or Her Majesty's Ship, depending on the gender of the reigning British monarch), serving as the official prefix for ships commissioned into the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.[1] This designation, which emerged around 1790, denotes that the vessel operates under the sovereign's direct authority and forms part of the naval forces defending British interests.[2][3] The prefix has been affixed to thousands of warships throughout history, from wooden sailing vessels like HMS Victory—which played a pivotal role in the Battle of Trafalgar—to modern nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, symbolizing the evolution of British sea power and its contributions to global conflicts such as the Napoleonic Wars, World Wars, and contemporary maritime security operations.[2] Variants of HMS are used by other Commonwealth navies, reflecting shared monarchical traditions, though the core application remains tied to the Royal Navy's commissioned fleet.[3]Military and Naval Uses
Her Majesty's Ship
HMS designates commissioned warships of the Royal Navy, standing for "His Majesty's Ship" during the reign of a king or "Her Majesty's Ship" during that of a queen, reflecting the vessels' nominal ownership by the British monarch. This prefix distinguishes active, armed naval ships from merchant, auxiliary, or non-commissioned craft, a convention that emphasizes their role in national defense under royal authority. The Royal Navy, as the senior service of the British Armed Forces, applies HMS exclusively to its front-line combatants, such as destroyers, frigates, submarines, and aircraft carriers.[4] The prefix originated in the 17th century, with early references to "His Majesties Ships" appearing in parliamentary acts under Charles II shortly after the 1660 Restoration, denoting royal possession amid efforts to formalize naval administration. Usage became more consistent in the late 18th century, around the 1770s or 1780s, coinciding with the expansion of the fleet during conflicts like the American Revolutionary War, though it was not rigidly standardized until approximately 1820. Prior to the 1800s, ship naming lacked uniform prefixes, with designations often ad hoc or descriptive.[5][4] Under Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned from 6 February 1952 to 8 September 2022, the prefix expanded to "Her Majesty's Ship," aligning with precedents set during prior female monarchs like Queen Victoria (1837–1901). Following her death and the accession of King Charles III, it reverted to "His Majesty's Ship" without altering the abbreviation or operational protocols. As of 2025, active examples include HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer involved in NATO surveillance of Russian vessels in UK waters on 22 October 2025, and HMS Somerset, a Type 23 frigate that conducted the Royal Navy's first live firing of Naval Strike Missiles on 29 September 2025.[6][7] The HMS designation carries ceremonial and legal weight, as commissioning ceremonies invoke the monarch's name, reinforcing the Navy's constitutional ties to the Crown; non-commissioned support ships, by contrast, fall under the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (prefixed RFA) and lack combat status. This system persists amid modern fleet modernization, with planned vessels like additional Type 26 frigates retaining the prefix upon entry into service.[4]Education
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University, established in 1782 and recognized as the third oldest medical school in the United States.[8] Founding surgeon John Warren initiated anatomical lectures in 1780 amid the Revolutionary War at a Boston military hospital, culminating in formal instruction starting in 1783 with a small cohort of students and three faculty members at Harvard Hall in Cambridge.[9] Relocating to Boston's Longwood Medical Area, the institution emphasizes physician training, biomedical research, and clinical innovation, with a stated mission to advance health through excellence in education, discovery, and service.[8] HMS affiliates with 15 major teaching hospitals and research institutes, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which facilitate patient care, residency training, and collaborative studies.[10] These partnerships support a faculty exceeding 10,000 members and enable high research output, as evidenced by contributions to high-impact journals tracked in the Nature Index for the period August 2024 to July 2025.[11] The MD program admits around 165 students annually, with full-time tuition at $71,032 for the 2025-2026 academic year, supplemented by mandatory fees of $2,189 and health insurance at $4,202; average MD graduate debt in 2024 stood at $118,957, below national medians for public schools ($186,134).[12][13] Like peer institutions, HMS has faced scrutiny over faculty financial ties to industry, prompting policy reviews as early as 2009 to address potential conflicts in research and consulting.[14] More recently, former dean Jeffrey Flier criticized curricula incorporating anti-racism frameworks as risking dilution of empirical focus in favor of ideological priorities, reflecting broader concerns about viewpoint conformity in elite medical education amid systemic left-leaning biases in academia.[15] In April 2025, HMS responded by forming an open inquiry working group to promote free exchange of ideas.[16]Medicine and Health
Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder
Hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) refers to a group of connective tissue conditions characterized by joint hypermobility accompanied by musculoskeletal symptoms such as pain and instability, but without meeting the diagnostic criteria for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS).[17] Introduced in the 2017 International Classification of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, HSD replaced earlier terms like joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS) to better delineate symptomatic hypermobility outside specific syndromes.[17] Subtypes include generalized HSD (G-HSD) for widespread hypermobility, peripheral HSD (P-HSD) limited to distal joints, localized HSD (L-HSD) affecting specific joints, and historical HSD (H-HSD) based on past hypermobility with residual symptoms.[17] Unlike hEDS, which requires additional features like systemic manifestations and family history, HSD diagnosis emphasizes symptomatic joint laxity without those extras.[18] Common symptoms include chronic widespread joint pain, recurrent subluxations or dislocations, reduced proprioception leading to clumsiness, and fatigue; extra-articular manifestations may involve gastrointestinal dysmotility, autonomic dysfunction such as orthostatic intolerance, and soft tissue injuries.[17] Pain often stems from biomechanical overload on lax ligaments and central sensitization rather than structural damage alone.[17] These symptoms can impair daily function, with higher severity in females and those with generalized forms.[19] Etiologically, HSD involves heritable defects in connective tissue integrity, likely through weak collagen fibrils causing ligamentous laxity, though no specific causative gene has been identified unlike in other Ehlers-Danlos types.[18] Inheritance patterns suggest autosomal dominant transmission with variable penetrance, contributing to joint instability and secondary complications.[17] Diagnosis relies on clinical assessment using the Beighton score (≥5/9 points in adults under 50 for generalized hypermobility, adjusted for age and sex) combined with evidence of musculoskeletal pain or instability in at least four joints for three months, after excluding hEDS and other connective tissue disorders via history, exam, and targeted tests like echocardiography.[18][19] The five-part hypermobility questionnaire can support screening, with ≥2 positive responses indicating likely hypermobility.[19] Prevalence of symptomatic HSD is estimated at 0.11% to 0.17% when combined with hEDS (1 in 600 to 1 in 900 individuals), though general joint hypermobility affects up to 32.5% of girls and 18.1% of boys under 19, with only about 10% developing chronic symptoms.[17] Management focuses on symptom relief and prevention through multidisciplinary care, including physical therapy emphasizing isometric strengthening and proprioceptive training to stabilize joints, alongside analgesics like NSAIDs or acetaminophen for pain, while avoiding opioids due to dependency risks.[17] Bracing, lifestyle adaptations for joint protection, and education on posture reduce injury recurrence; psychological support addresses associated anxiety or fatigue, though no curative interventions exist.[18][19] Symptoms may lessen with age in some cases, but chronic management is often required.[19]Hospital Management System
A Hospital Management System (HMS) is an integrated digital platform that automates core administrative, clinical, financial, and operational workflows in healthcare facilities, encompassing modules such as patient registration, electronic health records (EHR), appointment scheduling, billing, inventory control, and laboratory management.[20][21] These systems replace manual processes with centralized databases, enabling real-time data sharing among departments to support decision-making and resource allocation.[22] Modern HMS often incorporate interoperability standards like HL7 or FHIR to facilitate data exchange with external systems.[23] Key modules typically include:- Patient management: Handles registration, admissions, discharge, and tracking of medical history and demographics.[24]
- Clinical modules: Integrate EHR for storing diagnoses, prescriptions, and test results, alongside tools for e-prescribing and medication administration records (eMAR).[25][26]
- Administrative and financial tools: Cover staff rostering, insurance claims processing, revenue cycle management, and compliance reporting.[27]
- Support functions: Manage pharmacy stock, radiology imaging (PACS), and facility maintenance to minimize errors and delays.[28]