According to the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine, a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) (aka Podiatric Physician or Podiatric Surgeon) is a medical specialist who diagnoses and treats conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and structures of the leg. The US podiatric medical school curriculum (which is equivalent to the curriculum of the M.D and D.O pathways) includes lower extremity anatomy, general human anatomy, physiology, general medicine, physical assessment, biochemistry, neurobiology, pathophysiology, genetics and embryology, microbiology, histology, pharmacology, women's health, physical rehabilitation, sports medicine, research, ethics and jurisprudence, biomechanics, general principles of orthopedic surgery, and foot and ankle surgery.