user6: There is a large overlap between medicine and biology, a lot of medical questions are in the end questions about human biology. Where do we want to draw the line on medical questions, when are they off-topic here?

user107: I think that any question asking for medical advice is very much off topic (and gets into a potentially ethically or legally dubious area). 
I agree that many (most?) medical questions are human biology questions. But I would take it one step further: medicine is best understood using basic concepts of biology. 
I think that, if marginal medicine questions are asked, we should work to reformat them as biology questions. In the end, this serves two purposes: (1) we have a better question base and (2) we can educate the public about biology and why they should care (i.e., their health).
I like this question: Why Does Salt Water Help Sore Throats?, which could have been posed as a medicine question, but really is more of a membrane biology/biophysics/microbiology question. Imagine the question as "Will gargling with salt water help my sore throat [see photo]?"

user67: In my mind, the line should probably be drawn between "What should I do?" and "How does this work?". Biology is the mechanistic explanation for most of medicine, so those questions should be on topic.

6: <p>There is a large overlap between medicine and biology, a lot of medical questions are in the end questions about human biology. Where do we want to draw the line on medical questions, when are they off-topic here?</p>
 107: <p>I think that any question asking for medical advice is very much off topic (and gets into a potentially ethically or legally dubious area). </p>

<p>I agree that many (most?) medical questions are human biology questions. But I would take it one step further: medicine is best understood using basic concepts of biology. </p>

<p>I think that, if marginal medicine questions are asked, we should work to reformat them as biology questions. In the end, this serves two purposes: (1) we have a better question base and (2) we can educate the public about biology and why they should care (i.e., their health).</p>

<p>I like this question: <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/189/why-does-salt-water-help-sore-throats">Why Does Salt Water Help Sore Throats?</a>, which could have been posed as a medicine question, but really is more of a membrane biology/biophysics/microbiology question. Imagine the question as "Will gargling with salt water help my sore throat [see photo]?"</p>
 67: <p>In my mind, the line should probably be drawn between "What should I do?" and "How does this work?". Biology is the mechanistic explanation for most of medicine, so those questions should be on topic.</p>
